


Sweet Dreams

by Lady_Eclair



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, Child Abuse, Drug Addiction, F/M, Johnny's Potty Mouth, OC characters, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Way too many swears, netrunner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:02:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 71,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28408185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Eclair/pseuds/Lady_Eclair
Summary: It's after the end, and the end was tragic. So the rockerboy's stuck, and his current companion is far less entertaining than V was and fuck, if he isn't bored out of his damn mind. So he's more than happy when someone saves his ass, less happy when everything goes to shit - again.You're not made for the real world, quite literally, but now you're stuck with no options, a city in chaos and a freaking serious amount of problems. Damn, you were certainly a magnet for trouble.
Relationships: Johnny Silverhand & V, Johnny Silverhand/You
Comments: 20
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Got something floating around in my head. Let's see where it goes.

_ Forsaken _

The world was a combination of light, and darkness. Millions and millions of lights that danced and flickered and throbbed to some ghostly beat, while the darkness of the neverending void provided the backdrop to the show. It was like being stuck at some ridiculous EDM concert - minus the sweaty bodies, high as fuck fans, and disgusting music - but still similar enough that Johnny found himself wondering if he’d made the right choice letting V keep control of her body.  _ Fuck _ ! He could be out and about on the streets of NC  _ right  _ now, smoking something that wasn’t a line of code, hell snorting code - pretty sure he’d seen some or other drug call that when he was hitching a ride around in V’s head - and banging his way through a steady stream of men and women alike. 

Nearby, the massive form of Alt was standing motionless, her focus elsewhere, probably finding ways to cause mayhem to corpos on the other side of the globe. Globe? Was there even a globe here? Johnny tossed the cigarette from his fingers in disgust, kicked off the collection of data he’d been using as a bench and stomped towards his giant ex. 

“Hey Alt. You gonna teach me something about being a cyber construct any time soon?”

His voice sounded strange to him, tinny and not quite the growl he’d developed since puberty, when he’d dropped that ridiculously embarrassing break. Thank God for that, or he’d have had a slightly harder time scoring - not impossible, afterall he had more than enough to compensate with, but still annoying. Almost as annoying as the lack of response he got from Alt, but not quite. 

He’d been stuck here for… He couldn’t tell really, not on his own that was, and with Alt refusing to actually help him in any meaningful way, he was stuck figuring things out for himself. Which had been.... Interesting. His first attempt to pull up a BD had been disastrous, and he’d managed to fix a looped video of a man with rapid fire diarrhea in his vision until Alt had finally deigned to pay attention to him. Since then he’d been more than a little cautious about accessing the web, keeping to screamsheets and newscasts. 

Arasaka was still scrambling around, headless fucking chickens after V and Panam had blasted their way through the tower, the sight pure fucking ecstasy to his boring life, and there were telltale signs of V’s life everywhere else. Police statements about Wraith camps being decimated, the Aldecaldos obviously blossoming under their new girl dream team. 

The thought of V, relaxing around the campfire, beer in hand with old Cassidy strumming along on his guitar as they stared at the stars brought a wry smile to his lips. V had chosen well, he knew that, he was happy for her but he missed having her around. Quirky, quick to anger, overly fond of katana - V had become his best friend in the world, the only person he had ever felt that somewhat understood him. Not that she had much of a choice, considering how he’d leeched off of her for several months. 

Johnny kicked at an invisible rock, shoving away those feelings in the way he always did. She’d rubbed off on him a little too much, with her fucking moods and emotional tirades and crying when she was happy… God, Johnny missed her.

He absentmindedly scratched his crotch, stalking through the light, feet impacting on nothing but still it felt good to walk, clear his mind. Johnny wandered aimlessly, not really paying attention to where he was going, everything looked more or less the fucking same anyway, so what did he care? 

Apparently, he did. 

Shapes moved, cutting through the blue lights with harsh orange light and Johnny reached for his iron, fingers finding nothing.  _ Idiot Silverhand. _ His metal hand clenched into a fist, he hissed at the rogue AI who were circling him like he was some kind of prey. He’d never felt that way before in his life, no Johnny Fucking Silverhand was a predator, he was the thing that went bump in the night, the monster under the bed. Johnny was nothing but pure, visceral power his whole life long but now? Now he was a baby gazelle, separated from its inattentive mother, ready to be devoured by a pack of vicious lions. 

Speaking of inattentive guardians, Johnny’s eyes scanned the area for signs of Alt, coming up empty and he swore heavily. He was fucked. Well and truly fucked.

A brief question flashed through his mind, was dying in Cyberspace as painful as in realspace? He fucking hoped not, he wasn’t looking forward to feeling that  _ ever _ again. The first AI lunged at him, a feint, brushing up against his “body” and Johnny yelped like he’d been shocked. Every part of him felt like it had been pummeled over and over by Smasher, again. 

“What, no foreplay?” Johnny spat out at the AI circling. “I get it. Straight to business, I get the sentiment, but you gotta show ‘em a good time too.”

_ BIOLOGICAL DATA CONSTRUCT DETECTED. INITIATE ABSORPTION AND DEFRAGMENTATION SEQUENCES. _

Oh, Johnny did not like the sound of that  _ at all _ . He swung his metallic arm at the nearest AI, but it waved through the lights. Smoke and mirrors.  


_ Yup, fucked. _

Johnny supposed he could run, hope that he could make it back to Alt in time before he became some rogue AI’s breakfast, but he wasn’t sure that he could even actually run. Not in the real sense of the action, this whole place was fucking strange and he was lost. So, with a heavy sigh he backed down.

Had a good run…

“Well, that’s certainly one way to deal with a problem.”

A new voice echoed through the space and Johnny blinked, eyes scanning the AI. Was it one of them?

“If you’re interested in life, I’d recommend standing  _ very _ still because this next part is particularly tricky to do, and I really don't think you want to die.”

The voice carried emotion. Something that Johnny hadn’t heard since V’s goodbye to him, everything here was just monotone and flat. Fake, flat, computer generated,  _ fuckin’ machines. _

Johnny responded to the voice by following its instructions, and for a second he wondered if he’d imagined the whole thing as the AI’s continued their approach. His "heart" thundered in his chest as he stood stock still, the AI's so close he could taste the corrupt static on his tongue... and then there was a blinding flash of light, the AI’s screeching and bolting for the depths of the cyberspace as quickly as they had arrived. Johnny stood there, slack jawed, shocked at the instantaneous reaction and it took him a long second, before he gathered his wits enough to turn on his heel, eyes searching for the source of the voice. Turns out he didn’t need to search hard, as a figure materialised in front of him. In this place, the body was nothing but a construct, it was nothing but a collection of data and light but like Johnny and sometimes Alt, this figure was distinctly humanoid compared to the AI’s who had been nothing but hovering balls of data and light. 

“Well that was one hell of a way to start my day,” The voice chuckled, the sound tinny but so  _ deliciously  _ human that Johnny could have wept. “You okay there?”

“Fuckin’ preem. Thanks for that.”

“Don’t mention it. Though, if you’re heading this far past The Blackwall, then you should maybe think about brushing up on your skills. Might not always have good Samaritans around to save your ass, and AI’s, well they can’t be reasoned with.”

“Yeah. You might be right,” Johnny tried to distinguish the appearance of his savior. The voice sounded somewhat feminine, but the figure was too distorted to tell for sure, and in this day and age anyone could be anything in NC. “So to whom do I owe my code?”

“Cute,” The voice snorted. “I’m just your friendly neighborhood netrunner passing by, saw the AI on my scans, thought I’d come see what mischief they were up to this time. I’m sure you’re glad I did, cause that’s  _ not  _ a pretty way to go.”

Johnny had no doubts about that. 

“Fuckin’ sounded painful.”

Johnny’s saviour paused for a second, form turning around once and then it blinked away a little distance, ephemeral arm beckoning Johnny to follow.

“C’mon, it’s not safe here. AI’s will be back with backup and I mean, I’m good at what I do, but I’m not that good, so let's move. Unless you want to become a snack.”

Johnny considered the instructions for a brief second before following after the netrunner.

“Not a snack.”

The netrunner made a questioning noise as they led him away, back towards Alt and the Arasaka construct they called home.

“I’m a fuckin’ meal,” Johnny corrected and he swore that the netrunner looked over their shoulder and shot him a glare. “Best meal in NC.”

“God. Maybe I should have left you to them,” The netrunner paused and Johnny slowed. “Can’t you move any faster than that? You’re trudging around like you’re on the street.”

“I’m walkin’ here,” Johnny frowned in confusion. “What the fuck more do you want from me?”

The netrunner’s form materialised in front of him in a second, catching Johnny off guard.

“You don’t even know how to  _ move _ ?” Their voice was incredulous. “What the hell kind of netrunner are you?”

“The old-school rocker kind.” He shot back, a slight bite in his tone at their words. Johnny had never taken easily to criticism, teasing or anything that brought him into a sharp focus and he wasn’t about to start now in his  _ third _ fucking life. “The hell you doin’ here anyway? Thought this part of the net was inaccessible.”

“Not inaccessible,” The netrunner corrected with a sigh. “Just, dangerous and prone to swallow most netrunners whole if they are stupid enough to think its a walk in the park.”

Johnny hmm’d in acknowledgement and glared at the netrunner who was still standing in front of him. 

“Take a fuckin’ picture why don’t you?” He snarled. “What are you lookin’ for here?”

“Trying to figure out what kind of gonk runs around without knowing the first thing about the net and drawing blanks. Also, if you’re going to survive, you’re going to want to stop thinking of yourself as having a real body,” The netrunner blinked away a little distance. “Just look at me and move yourself like you’d move a glass across the table.” 

Johnny considered for a brief second if the netrunner was fucking with him, if this was some kind of elaborate joke or hoax, then realised that this was the most interaction he’d had in… fucking forever and decided to tone down his usual asshole nature. Wasn’t about to scare off his only entertainment right away.

He let out a sigh of static and took a step towards the netrunner who laughed at him, sparking his ire.

“You’re using your legs you gonk.”

“You’re stupid.”

“Real impressive comeback that,” The netrunner’s laugh was light. “C’mon rockerboy, you’re falling behind.”

The netrunner blinked further away and Johnny stood there, staring for a long moment, wondering exactly why he felt like he’d been transported back to middle-school and had forgotten how to dish as well as he was dealt. It was only a second though, because there was no way in  _ hell _ Johnny Silverhand was losing in any form of any competition to some mouthy nethead.


	2. Behind Blue Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2. More random brain moments. Let's see where we go from here, hold on ya'll my brain is one wild ride.

_ Behind Blue Eyes  _

Alt had finally deigned to look at him today, that massive body turning slightly as he’d walked into their small fortress, alone. The netrunner had vanished as quickly as they’d appeared, nothing more than a casual  _ see ya rockerboy _ , tossed at him before they’d just blinked into nothingness. Johnny had neither gotten a name, nor managed to actually catch their blinking form, even though he’d finally figured out the moving thing. Even in V’s head, he’d been walking around, stalking the edges of her consciousness like a caged tiger so this psychic mumbo blinking jumbo had been about as easy to learn as deep throating a cactus. 

Johnny felt worn out, somehow, his soul felt worn as he slumped down on a coded couch and looked at the world above him. The mass of lights, of code… It wasn’t familiar, he couldn't compare it to anything he’d seen in his lives and it felt so wrong he wanted to burn it all down, and hope that the flames and smoke would reveal something he could relate to. Instead he picked a song and his metal hand ghosted along the neck of a phantom guitar, the chords and fingering enough to distract him from his darker thoughts, one song turning into another, into another until he eventually ran out of songs to play. Impressive, considering Johnny always had some kind of song in his head.

“Your friend has been lurking around. They’ve been pinging my security for a while.”

Alt’s voice interrupted his thoughts and Johnny swore in surprise. She had barely spoken to him since he’d arrived and every sound of her voice was nothing if not jarring when he heard it. That ghost of a voice he’d cared way too much about…

“My friend?”

“The netrunner who saved you from the rogue AI’s. They have returned to the general area and have been probing at my security.”

“You knew about the rogue AI?” Johnny’s voice was rising in anger. “You fuckin’ knew I was about to get chewed up by them and you just, what? Watched?”

“I noted the presence of the netrunner. I was prepared to intervene.”

“Took your sweet fucking time.”

“Please inform the netrunner that I will take hostile actions against them should they continue to pressure my security.”

Johnny opened his mouth to retort, but realised that Alt was no longer present and focused on him so he flipped her the bird and stalked away. Sometimes walking was the best way to deal with things, and hell if it made a grand exit too.

The world outside their little fortress wasn’t much different from inside, less defined, less familiar of course, but still nothing but a mass of lights and code and whatever the fuck else floated around in this hellscape, but there was enough of a change that Johnny felt like he was actually outside. He briefly scanned the area, for signs of the netrunner Alt had been bitching about but he came up blank and wondered briefly if Alt had been bullshitting him to get him to stop humming and irritating her.

“You’re in there with Alt? Alt freakin’ Cunningham?” 

Johnny turned sharply to the left, the netrunner’s form was lounging lazily against a pillar of data, ephemeral hand dancing through the code there like it was sand. 

“Take it you’re a fan?”

“Oh, more like slightly terrified and highly interested in what exactly she does up there in that ivory tower. What’re you doing in there.”

“Fadin’ away, losing my mind.”

“We’re all a little mad here,” The netrunner sighed and looked around. “If you’re anything like me, you’re here ‘cause you have no real other place to go. Right? Don’t answer that, no need to be sadder than usual... Instead, let me teach you the basics? I’m having a  _ real _ shit week, and I need someone to distract me.”

“Can distract you in a whole lotta other ways…”

The netrunner let out a dry laugh at Johnny who bristled slightly at the tone. It was like they were utterly dismissing him.  _ Him.  _ Him, the King of Rock. Fuck he’d like to teach them a lesson, but here in the world of data and light what could he possibly do? Glare. Johnny settled for glaring at them.

“Slow down there cowboy, let’s focus on the task at hand hm?” The netrunner lifted an arm, conjuring a screen of light and images. “Can you at least watch the news?”   
Johnny nodded, doing the same and a woman in far too much make-up laughed fakely at the screen while her co-anchor nattered away.

“Great, so you got that mastered, but… Can you search for anything else?”

“Nope.”

Jonny popped the ‘p’ with a loud sound. 

“Well let’s focus on that for the time being?” The netrunner plopped down on the ground, waving Johnny to join them with a glittering hand. “C’mon rocker boy.”

He joined them, not overly sure about what the netrunner was doing here, and why they were spending time helping him.

“You got a reason you’re lurking around? Got a crush on me?”

The netrunner made a scoffing sound.

“I’m always trying to help pathetic lost souls,” The netrunner shot back easily enough that Johnny grinned to himself. “Come along old man, have a seat and let's start working.”

~~

“So you’re actually  _ the _ Johnny Silverhand?” The netrunner was weaving code between their fingers, lying flat on their back, Johnny relaxing nearby. He was puffing on a virtual cigarette, watching the lights and shadows of the world. The netrunner had been visiting him everyday, a constant figure which was probably the only thing keeping him sane in this world. They symbolised the passage of time too, disappearing when they went to bed and arriving when they woke up - or so they’d told Johnny. He’d asked them once, why they spent every day here, all day with him and they’d gone quiet for a long second then muttered something about reality sucking enough that they’d rather see his ugly code face all day. He’d heard the hesitance in their voice, just like now he heard the guarded tone they used and it made his curiosity burn something fierce, but he wasn’t about to push the only human contact he had left. 

“ _ The _ legendary rocker in the flesh.”

“The man who blew up Arasaka tower.”

Johnny paused mid-puff, shooting a long look at the netrunner.

“You know about that?”

“Please, I spend all day here, I know pretty much everything there is to know.”

Johnny narrowed his eyes at them. He had been screwed over enough to know when someone was hiding something, it hung to people like a stench hung to a corpo pig, and this one was reeking. Fuck it if he was going to just let it slide though, wasn’t about to get stuck in another Mikoshi type situation because Arasaka goons had found someone to push his defenses down. He pushed forward, blinking right above the netrunner, arms on either side of their head and there was a sound like a squeal. 

Johnny grinned, enjoying the squirming reaction and then he was clutching his head screaming in pain, the netrunner blinking away, hand outstretched. 

“The fuck!?” He roared at them. 

“I could ask you the same fucking thing you pervert!” Voice so high that there was little doubt he was dealing with a girl, despite the distortion of their voice. How he hadn’t noticed it before was beyond Johnny. They moved more feminine too, but that meant nothing these days, it was just the way they acted, a fire burning in them that could only come from a lifetime having to hold their own, prove themselves in a world that did nothing but try to break them down. Attitudes like that only came from growing up as a street rat - like V had - or as a woman. 

“You’ve got a lot of secrets, don’t you girl?”

The netrunner went still for half a second, watching Johnny as he panted on the ground. He couldn’t see her face, her real features, but the feeling coming off her was that of one inspecting a piece of dirt on their boot, and it stirred something in Johnny despite the absolute agony in his body.

“You know, it’s not polite to touch people without permission.”

Johnny let out a pained chuckle, breath a ragged gasp in his throat.

“Can’t  _ actually  _ touch you.”

“Regardless. I don’t know how they did things in the 2020’s but here? You’re lucky I didn’t burn your code apart.”

“Like Alt would let that happen.”

“I can give Alt a run for her money,” The netrunner sounded like she was pouting. Oh, so she was competitive then. Johnny let out a sigh of relief as the pain subsided, hell he didn’t realise that things could feel so real out here. Maybe it was because he wasn’t just code, but an actual engram. Either way, he was happy his body no longer felt like he was both suffering a thousand withdrawals all at once. “Just… don’t do that again.”

Johnny grunted in acknowledgement, rolling onto his back, staring at the never-ending void of sky above him. Silence enfolded them for a while, the flash of The Blackwall in the distance and the crackle of code in the air was the only accompaniment to their silence, the netrunner was fidgeting again, that code spinning around her fingers in a dizzying flash of light.

“What... How did you end up here?”

The netrunner’s voice was quiet, and Johnny lifted his head to shoot them a scrutinizing look. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say the girl was nervous, worried. It made him curious as all hell, something was there lurking beneath the surface and he knew he was going to relish figuring it all out. The mystery was just what he needed to distract him in this never-ending hellscape.

“That is a very long story.”

“Got anything better to do?” The netrunner flicked her wrist and the code shifted into a shape, a planet - Saturn maybe, then she flicked it again, and it became a red ball of glowing red, a miniature sun. “Hot date maybe? Gonna go get all dressed up?”

“You’re fucking mouthy. Has anyone ever told you that?” Johnny hissed at her and she laughed it off, like water off a duck’s back. Girl was called mouthy by him at least ten times a day, usually coupled with some or other expletive in tow. “Just didn’t think you wanted an old man talking all the time.”

“Oh, I don’t. Definitely not but, the choice is you or a rogue AI. Now, while I am all for logical arguments and avoiding getting obliterated, I’m a tiny bit tired, so…” 

Johnny let out a short laugh and folded his arms under his head.

“Started with a bad heist, a bullet and a trash dump.”


	3. I Miss the Misery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Years or something happening here. It's cold, and snowing and I just gorged myself on an entire pizza. Living the high life. Have a chapter.

“You’re doing it wrong.”

Alt was standing over the netrunner, who was doing something or the other with that code she was always playing with. It had been three weeks, based on the stop and go nature of Johnny’s interactions with the netrunner, who still hadn’t told him her name, and Johnny was nearing the end of his story. The end of the story which was, in his opinion, the only reason the smart-mouthed, mysterious netrunner even hung around. Johnny didn’t want to admit it to anyone but his own brain, but the thought of being left alone here - again - well that was about as appealing as getting gonked by Arasaka again. 

“I know how to hack a BD lobby,” The netrunner growled, voice annoyed. She stopped winding her fingers around the code and glared up at Alt. “Is there a reason you’re here? Don’t you have despots to topple? Corpos to blow up?”

“I am currently engaging in a multitude of tasks. I detected your appearance and wished to see what manner of netrunner keeps foolishly diving behind The Blackwall.”

“You’re curious? Odd that a mighty being like you feels such things.”

“I do not feel things. I wish only to understand the nature of your actions so that I can better prepare for other possible intruders into my sector.”

The netrunner made a sound of acknowledgement and their fingers went back to work. 

“Look at you two, best friends already,” Johnny chuckled, a cigarette appearing in his hand. He’d kill for real nicotine. “You’re making my heart all warm and fuzzy.”

“Fuck off Silverhand,” The netrunner flicked her wrist up and Johnny jumped as a screen appeared in front of him. The newscast blasted loudly in the void of cyberspace, an advert for some or other erectile dysfunction drug brightly flashing across his vision. It flickered for a second and then the screen changed to a BD, a beautiful red haired woman sensually walking her way across a stripper lounge towards Johnny, her green eyes transfixing him to the point where the cigarette dropped from his lips. Fuck, he could almost feel the fingers on his cheek as she reached forward - almost. She got so close Johnny could smell her perfume and he nearly reached a hand out to grab her waist, pull her closer and bury his face in her impressive rack, but the BD paused and Johnny let out a short groan. 

“As  _ much _ as I’d like to see you humping the net, I believe that you actually asked me how to control this specific function,” Johnny could basically hear her rolling her eyes at him. “I’ll share the code with you, then you can browse as you like. Basically works the same for everything video related to, you just need to upload this code, search and play.”

“Gotta do that light twisting thing that you do? With your fingers?”

Johnny was a guitar player, he had skilled fingers on the strings and other places but what she did was… Entrancing, beautiful and looked fucking impossible.

“No. Gonk,” She huffed. “You just need to apply the code, same as Alt does.”

“Why not like you?” 

“She has altered her code here. Her fingers serve the same purpose as her mind. It is both slower and more troublesome.”

Alt chipped in with a matter of fact tone.

“Then why do it?” Johnny asked, eyes still trained on the redhead. “Seems pointless.”

“Why the obsession with redheads with big boobs? People like what they like,” The netrunner snapped back. “It works for me and that’s all that matters.”

“Hacking efficiency can be increased by 350% and breaching by 97% simply by switching to the better method. As a netrunner you are not very good.”

“Fuck you too Alt,” She shot back. “For those of us who didn’t decide to forget our humanity and become giant masses of only slightly useful code, we have preferences and desires. If I have to stop being human to be a better netrunner, then I say no.”

“Foolish human emotions will always be the folly of netrunners. This is why I abandoned them. Emotions lead to nothing but inefficiency and tirades.”

“Right, arguing with a logical being was right up there on my list of things to do today,” The netrunner turned to Johnny. “Here, the code…”

A flash of data streamed across to Johnny, swirling through his body and somewhere in his head knowledge appeared, well perhaps not knowledge, more like just a kind of skill. It was nearly impossible to explain, but now Johnny felt secure in the idea that he could access the net more safely now, without the fear of men spurting unmentionable bodily fluids. Well, probably.

“You don’t go hacking anything too high security now alright? It wouldn’t end well for you and…”

The netrunner paused mid sentence, freezing in place. It wouldn’t have been a problem, except they flickered in and out of existence violently twice, turned to Johnny and the start of a word left their mouth before the netrunner completely vanished.

“Shi…”

Johnny blinked in surprise, the BD closing.

“What did you do?” He demanded from Alt who had turned away from them. “Where’d she go?”

“I do not know and I have done a great many things since I last spoke, which are you asking about Johnny?”

“Fuckin’ did you throw her out of here?”

“I have no time for trivial activities such as that. She disconnected of her own accord.”

“Own accord my ass. Something went wrong.”

“That is possible too.”

“Well then, let’s hack her and see what happened.”

Alt didn’t respond and Johnny felt his temper rising slightly.

“Alt for Christ’s sake, help me out here would you.”

“I have attempted to hack her connection based on the residual code. This has proven unsuccessful.”

“Unsuccessful?”

“The netrunner is running her connection through a multitude of proxy servers, bouncing IP addresses and pirate scramblers. I have traced through them, however, there is a layer of Black ICE that I cannot get through. It has been written specifically for me. I am… impressed.”

“I don’t need you to be impressed, I need you to hack.”

“I cannot hack this ICE.”

Johnny could feel that scratching sensation in the pit of his gut, the one he got when people were lying, when things were going wrong. Something was wrong, the netrunner  _ never _ logged out randomly, she always shot him a short -  _ see ya rockerboy _ \- and then left and she never, ever left a conversation halfway through. 

“So what can you do?” Johnny snapped at Alt, voice rising in anger. “What good are you?”

“I can, and will return to my previous tasks. Your friend will return in time. If not that is the way of mortal flesh.”

Johnny could have strangled Alt. For a second he wanted her to be more human, just once, rather than this cool and logical…  _ thing _ . He needed Alt to just hear the frustration in his voice, to understand that the netrunner was his only damn friend and that he needed help. He blinked away, towards their Arasaka tower fortress and kicked at the ground in rage. If he was alive, or even in V’s head, they’d be halfway done figuring this shit out, and they’d be able to fix whatever the hell had gone wrong, but no, Johnny was a collection of code and V was god knows where.

“Fffuck…”

  
  


**_~~~~  
_ **

  
  


Johnny was prowling the edge of The Blackwall like a caged tiger and wondering just how much trouble he’d get into if he tried crossing it. He was frustrated, annoyed and on edge. Something wasn’t right and he wanted out, seriously wanted out. She’d been gone for a week now, at least judging from the newscasts he’d been watching - watching in the hopes of, fuck he didn’t know. Every report on someone dead, or a serious injury had him wondering if that was the netrunner or not and it was driving him insane. Maybe that was why Alt had just given up her emotions, living like this, hopeless to actually physically affect the world was so fucking frustrating it felt like his soul was eating him alive.

He snarled at a nearby rogue AI that was pinging itself against The Blackwall and stalked away, heading towards the Arasaka base. Maybe he’d just ask Alt to let him fade, absorb his code. He didn’t know why he was hanging around in all actuality.

“Still walking around like the world’s real eh rockerboy?” 

Johnny spun on his heel, eyes scanning the space around him for sign of the netrunner. Nothing. Yup, he was going absolutely insane. It was done, he was losing his shit.

“I’m here, well, kind of,” Her voice was distorted, but this time Johnny was positive that it was her, and the thought made that coiled snake in his belly relax - slightly. 

“Kind of?!” Johnny yelled at the void. “Where the  _ fuck  _ have you been?”

“Aw, did the big bad terrorist of Night City miss me?” She laughed softly and Johnny swore the sound was whispered in his ear. “You seem upset.”

“Where did you go?”

There was a pause and a tiny blue orb, a firefly of light flickered to life in front of Johnny’s face, bobbing up and down. It reminded him of stories his parents had told him about Will O'Wisps, those spirits luring unsuspecting travelers to their doom.

“I uh… experienced some technical difficulties,” She sounded flustered, off guard, tired. “I’m not really able to connect fully, running on minimum specs here, but… Just wanted to let you know. Don’t know why I wanted to, but… Whatever.”

Johnny would have found it somewhat adorable, if he wasn’t sensing a massive lie behind it all. It made his skin crawl, more than just a little was not being said here and Johnny would be damned if he’d let it slip by. 

“You’re lying.”

“I-I…” She stopped, the ball of light pausing with her voice. “I’m not!”

“You’re a fucking liar and you know it.”

“You’re being rude!”

“I’ll stop, when you stop lying.”

“I’m not lying!” She yelled and the ball exploded into a thousand sparks of purple lightning before coalescing back into a solid ball of light once more. “Just… Whatever Johnny. We all have secrets.”

“Not me,” Johnny shot back at her. “I’m an open fuckin’ book. Pity that same courtesy doesn’t extend from your side.”

She paused, hovering there for a few moments, light pulsing as Johnny glared. He wondered if he’d pushed a little too far, a little too hard, but then there was a sigh of static.

“My name is Aeri…” 

Johnny blinked in surprise, he’d expected her to throw more insults or protests, not the revelation of her name. 

“Aeri? Well that’s fuckin’ dainty isn’t it. What are you some kind of princess?”

“I’ll end you old man,” Aeri shot back, that fire back in her tone. “Princess or not, I’m not dainty.”

“Sure thing sweetheart. So, are you hanging around for much longer?”

  
“Miss me that much did you?” She laughed at him, and the orb flickered slightly. “I can’t stay long, still trying to recover. Did the BD system work out for you?”

Johnny considered telling her that yeah, it worked, but that he’d spent more time hunting about news regarding V and his new friend instead of getting off. He did, then realised he had absolutely zero intentions of letting her know anything of the sort. Johnny was no emotional sob, no matter how much V had rubbed off on him.

“It’s working fine.”

“Excellent, I’m glad you managed to figure the whole system out!”

“You know, you’re fuckin’ weird. Coming here every day, not just netrunning, oh no, you actually pop yourself behind The Blackwall like it’s a trip to the fucking bar. Are you mentally alright?”

“Nope,” She laughed, the ball of light buzzing around energetically. “Furthest thing from it actually. Why else would I spend any of my time around here? Jokes aside, I do really need to go, my secure link was damaged and I need to make sure that my null space is safe.”

“Null...Space?”

Johnny blinked in confusion. He really was not good at all of this tech talk, hell he hated it.

“It’s just what I call my private network. I layered it so that it’s basically like a separate room from the net. Like an airlock? One way in, one way out and surrounded by Black ICE, it’s my pride and joy,” She giggled at nothing in particular and Johnny found a grin curling at the corner of his own lips, the sound was infectious, the orb fluttered and then went very still as he folded his arms shaking his head in amusement. “Errm, I mean… Whatever.”

“So she can forget her words,” Johnny chuckled and the orb buzzed in annoyance. “Damn miracle.”

“You’re a jerk Johnny Silverhand!”

“Tell me something I don’t know princess.”

A silence fell between them, and Aeri sighed, light growing dimmer.

“I’m going to have to leave you again Johnny. Promise I’ll be back though, still want to teach you how to defend yourself against rogue AI’s, you know, for when I’m not around and stuff.”

Johnny hummed in acknowledgement.

“Next time you come back, let me know first hand what kind of action’s happening out in Night City. Want a first person recollection, so go get up to something massively interesting, you hear me? I'm talking police chases, gun fights and gang-war type action here."  


She paused again, clearly uncomfortable.

“Sure. Right. Just… don’t get into too much trouble you hear me rockerboy?”

“Fuckin’ don’t tell me what to do.”

The sound of her laughter followed him all the way back to the fortress.


	4. Daughter of Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm bored, it's new years, and I'm distracting myself from the pizza induced coma.

It took a long moment for my eyes to shift back into focus after the link disconnected, and even longer for me to gather the energy to turn my head and unjack from the link. The room was dark, it was always dark because the light hurt my eyes more often than it helped. A detriment of being sequestered away my whole life. I sighed, and with a groan pushed myself into a sitting position, legs shaking slightly from the effort and a glance to the side of my bed showed that it was well past ten, and ages since I’d last eaten anything. Further inspection of my side table showed me that there was a covered dish waiting, and a bottle of water alongside a bottle of medication which was resting on top of a note. 

I uncovered the dish, and the scent of  _ gyudon _ wafted up into my nostrils, my stomach letting out a massive growl, and I grabbed the fork that came with it, digging in heartily, pausing only to check my mail and read the latest screamsheets.

Nothing special, Arasaka and Militec were still having a dick measuring contest, and the whole of Night City was suffering for it, and corpos were still running the show while others suffered. Everything was exactly as I had left it before diving into the net.

A smile caught the corner of my mouth.

I’d always loved exploring beyond The Blackwall, the danger, the control… It was something that I had relished since I’d first figured it out, the freedom and the access to the rest of the world that I could obtain nowhere else. However, recently, I’d been more interested in going than ever before. Also for the first time, in a  _ very _ long time, absolutely terrified. 

Johnny Silverhand. 

Of all the things to encounter, the construct of the legendary rocker whose name was only ever spoken in hushed whispers during my childhood was the last thing I’d have expected to find. At first I’d had a hard time believing it, I mean, he died ages before I was born so logically there was no reasonable way he’d be around, but… The truth was never hard to find if you looked hard enough, and after I spent several hours trolling through the encrypted data at Arasaka I’d found it. The information, all of it.

Mikoshi, Hanako, Yorinobu… Saburo. The bombing, Soulkiller. Everything. 

It had linked up perfectly with the story he’d told me, about V and the chip. There was nothing more that I could find to doubt about his story, nothing more that I could question. I had encountered the living ghost and somehow I was still alive, despite the terrible stories and cautionary stories I’d grown up hearing as a child. 

Sure, the man was about as socialised as a hyena, and he was lacking in every single manner that had been drilled into me as a child, but there was a sharp, calculated mind there. He saw things that others wouldn’t ever see, a sixth sense about people and their intentions - maybe because of everything he’d gone through. Who even knew at this point, all I knew was that he was the most interesting thing to happen in my life - ever.

I opened the note, briefly scanning the scolding that Tabby had left me about not eating regularly enough and popped two of the painkillers in the bottle as the headache that had been dancing on the edges of my consciousness sank its nasty claws into my body. 

Johnny had asked me to go out and experience an adventure, I snorted at the thought, wandering towards the window of my room, opening the blinds a fraction. Blinding light seared my eyes and I cringed, waiting for my irises to adjust. 

From here, Night City was breathtaking, the lights and screamsheets a gorgeous halo of colour through the night sky whilst below thousands of car tail lights created blinking, dancing lines. Nearby the air hummed as a skyliner blasted past.

Night City was alive as always, so painfully alive that just looking at it sapped my energy, and the thought of venturing outside, even to my balcony made exhaustion creep deeply into my bones. There was a time I chewed at the bit to go outside, to experience that world of people and emotions and light and sound, I’d gotten into so much trouble when I had - grounded for weeks without net access - that it had just become too troublesome, and now that I was older? I knew my limits, I was quite literally as Johnny had called me. A princess. Stuck in her damned ivory tower.

I tossed off my clothes, sinking into the bath, the hot water scalding my skin as I entered, my hair piled atop my head as the scent of  _ sakura _ oils seeped into the air. 

A part of me contemplated it, heading out of my apartment and into the city. A part of me actually really wanted to do it too, to see the world as it was, not how it appeared from a bird’s eye-view. I wanted to live the adventurous life that Johnny had, the crazy adventures that V went through, all of it sounded amazing. Yet… I lifted my arm up out of the water, the implants that ran through it standing out starkly against my pale skin. I was built for the net, I had begged for these implants for months, because I was terrified of the real world… I wasn’t made for reality.

“Sorry Johnny, looks like no adventures for you.”

~~

It was as dark when I woke up as when I went to sleep and I blinked at the clock. I’d managed a whole three hours, an actual miracle for me, and I wondered briefly if I should log in before my body registered the pain screaming its way down my limbs and with a hiss I curled up on my side, hugging myself tightly. 

_Breathe…_ _Just breathe… Focus on something. Anything. Sushi? No, now I’m nauseous._

I pulled up my HUD, blasting off a quick message to Tabby before shoving my face into the pillow and letting out a heavy scream while red error messages screamed at me from behind my eyelids. Images of the affected neural paths, a brief scan flashed and I hissed in frustration closing the window. As if I  _ didn’t  _ already freaking know what was wrong with me. 

A notification popped up, that the door had been opened and I felt Tabby’s hands turn me around, and then a sharp pain as the Airhypo slammed into my chest. For a second I was floating, high above the world, the combination of pain and drugs slamming through my body a symphony to the gods before I crashed back down with a gasp that had me rocking up straight, hands clutching at my chest.

“Aeri, are you alright?” Tabby’s voice was polite, concerned, caring. I glanced over at her, the worn and wrinkled face as familiar to me as my own, her heavy Italian accent so warm. She’d been my caretaker for basically my whole life, the only person I’d ever truly gotten close to. “Do not move so much.”

She eased my trembling body back into the volumes of pillows I called home, brushing a strand of hair from my sweaty forehead.

“That is the second time this month,” She sighed, face sad. “I think it is time for your treatment.”

“No!” I knew I sounded like a petulant child but I didn’t care. The thought of undergoing the treatment that left me curled over the toilet, nauseous from the drugs and the pain. “I don’t want to…”

“ _B_ _ ambino _ I know,” She stroked the top of my head with one hand, while the other gripped mine tightly. “We do not have choice, this is the way that it must go.”

A tear rolled down the side of my face and I squeezed my eyes closed tightly, wishing for them to go, for everything to just stop. Twenty-five years of this… I wanted it to just stop.

“Can we just wait a little longer?” I begged, voice raspy from the screaming. “I was doing so well, I’ve been fine for five months Tabby.”

“Now you are not fine.  _Cucciolo_ , you know if we wait long…”

“We won’t, I just want a little bit of time before, you know, I end up a wasted mess on the floor. I will go for the treatments, I swear, just give me one week. Please.”

Tabby sighed, and her hand cupped my cheek.

“Alright, I will let the facility know, as well as your father.”

I groaned, thinking about the amount of drama that was going to ensue shortly. 

“Thanks Tabby,” I offered her a weak smile, and rolled onto my side. “Think I’m going to just have a nap for now.”

“Alright, if you need anything…”

“I’ll let you know.”

I waited until the door hissed shut behind her before I rolled over, and jacked into the link next to my bed. I was exhausted, but still floating on a high. I needed the thrill of the net, I needed to get away from my shitty life, my shitty disease, I needed to interact with someone who didn’t treat me like I was made of glass…

The world faded to black and I let out a sigh of relief as my pain melted away with it.


	5. No Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you didn't destroy your livers too much. Still cold. Still in the middle of a pandemic. Are we really in a new year?

I drifted along the edges of The Blackwall, watching as it throbbed and beat with the attempts of the rogue AI to blast through and unleash themselves upon the rest of cyberspace. It was oddly mesmerizing, and when I was younger I spent hours watching, wondering when something dark and nasty was going to manage to shove its way through. I’d heard that it had happened once or twice before, but I had never witnessed it. I honestly didn’t want to either, seemed like a whole lot of pain and suffering for little to no real reason. 

This side of The Blackwall felt incredibly relaxed, and I watched as a couple of other netrunners drifted by, their forms appearing to me much like Johnny’s did - orange, signalling their difference. 

“You User07?”

The voice made me jump and I turned around swiftly, a netrunner surrounded by a group of protectors stood before me, form shimmering. I surveyed them, they looked like they belonged to some or other gang, standing in protective formation like it had been drilled into them, that or they belonged to NetWatch. A ping on IP warning flared hotly across my vision and I immediately threw up my ICE - I was tired enough that I’d left them half loaded before entering, which was disastrous to say the least.

“No, but now I’m very pissed off and very curious as to why you’re looking for them.”

The leader of the group took a step back, a natural human reaction to being confronted with ire and caught red handed doing something that they weren’t supposed to. I knew what was coming next, they were going to logout and leave me seething, with unanswered questions. I flicked my hand out at my side, code searing straight out at the netrunner.

Alt was right, my hacking and breaching skills were slowed by a good amount by using this technique, but here in this world where everything physically related was so much easier to do than out in reality, I relished the ability to use my hands.

My hack shredded their basically layered ICE in a second, and I ping locked them, cancelling only the leader’s logout request. It took less than three seconds for all of this to happen, and I grinned deviously at them as their comrades logged out - unaware that they were leaving the leader behind, the time too short for a warning to be issued and I leaned back, holding up my hand, letting the code trickle around my fingers. It hummed and tickled with static, a feeling that was as familiar to me as the pain in my real body.

“The fuck did you do?” The leader was yelling, panicked. “Shit!”

“I cancelled the logout process for you, and now…” I reached forward, gripping their throat and shoving towards The Blackwall, the world shifting around us. We stopped inches away from the massive barrier, which spat and hissed at us, and the netrunner visibly reached the terror stage as they realised where we were. “Now, you’re going to tell me exactly why you tried to ping my location, and what kind of shady shit you’re up to. I warn you, I’m in a fucking bad mood so it won’t take much for me to throw you through The Blackwall, and trust me, you’re not going to like what you find there - though they’ll love you, a brand new toy.”

I released their throat and they cowered away from The Blackwall, noticing a fraction too late to stop me that I’d planted a proximity virus in their code while I’d been moving them here, and they jerked violently, tumbling to the ground as the virus sent pain straight through to their cyberware in their natural body. 

“You’re… There’s no way,” The netrunner’s voice was pure terror and awe. “You’re the fuckin’ Weaver. Fuck me.”

“Is that what they call me this side of The Wall?” I let out a short chuckle and crouched next to the netrunner. “Kinda like it actually. So, now that you know who _I_ am, it’s time for _you_ to speak - you’re obviously someone important, and not someone who often netruns, because you’d know better than to blast a full frontal ping like that.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Your friends aren’t going to come back in time to stop this conversation from happening,” I sighed. “So, instead of them having to bury your lifeless body after I’ve tossed you through this wall, let’s give them a nice whole executive?”

“Fine, just… Fine,’ The netrunner growled, holding up both hands in surrender. “We were meant to meet a CI here, they’re part of a gang. They were going to give us information about some things.”

“What things?”

  
“I can’t tell you that.”

  
“Jig is up, NetWatch doesn’t just send higher level execs in for no reason. You’re all bluster and no skill,” I sighed at him. “So what in the hell is so important that you’d lower yourself to enter cyberspace?”

“The gang, chatter’s been that they’re looking to breach The Blackwall.”

I scoffed at this.

“That rumour’s been around for decades, why the sudden interest?”  
“Because this time, it’s a very likely possibility. This gang has had help.”

“Help?”

“Don’t know the specifics but, they’ve managed to rope in assistance from someone. They’ve acquired a cloaking code.”

I felt my stomach drop at this. Cloaking codes were common enough, usually just for hackers looking to infiltrate places through disguising their code. It was low level coding really, I’d made at least a thousand in my lifetime, nothing I’d have given a second thought to, but if there was someone who had made one good enough to crack The Blackwall AI? That was insanity, requiring a massive amount of skill and planning. There was only one “person” I could think of who would have managed something like that.

 _Fuck_.

“So your informant? If you know all of this already, why were you meeting them?”

“To find out where and when they were going to use it. Somehow you ended up at the exact spot we were supposed to meet them…”

“Well. Fuck.”

“I’ll say.”

I considered him for a moment. There was a very distinct possibility that he was lying, of course, in his position there’d really be no reason to lie. I considered him for a second - wishing I had Johnny’s bullshit detector. 

If there was even the slightest possibility that they were in fact not lying, and I tossed him then we’d be in huge amounts of shit… I sighed and stepped back, neutralising the virus I’d placed in his code.

“You’re letting me go?”

He sounded shocked.

“I’ve got some things to do, and you… You’re going to send _every_ single byte of data you get on this to this address, it’s secure and completely separate from my personal link, so don’t bother wasting your time trying to locate me through it - I know how you NetWatch guys like to lock up rogue netrunners and AI,” I sent him the address to a proxy I’d set up some time ago. “If this shit is real, then you’re going to need whatever help you’re going to get.”

“You’re going to do this for free?” His voice was incredulous. “Nothing in return?”

“Did I say that?” I snapped back, and scanned the data I’d plucked from breaching his code. “No, you’re going to owe me. You, not NetWatch, you Mr. Becker.”

He let out a strangled noise.

“You’re a monster.”

“In this world? You’re either the monster or you’re fucking devoured whole by those who are - I prefer to do the devouring,” I grinned to myself, knowing he couldn’t see through the distortion around me. “Get the hell out of here.”

He didn’t need to be told twice, logging out as quickly as he could and I breathed out a sigh of relief, before considering the story he told me. There was only one way to discern the reliability of that information.

I stepped through The Blackwall.


	6. I'm So Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, shit's getting real here, and I forgot to sleep at a normal hour. Now I'm tired, grumpy and weirdly craving apples? I dunno. Anyway, thanks guys.

Johnny let out a self-satisfied sigh, a shit-eating grin covering his face as he turned off the BD. Damn was he ever grateful to Aeri for hooking him up with this shit. There was nothing quite like a pair of gorgeous tits to cheer a man up, and hell did that girl have some good ones. 

If life was like this now, well, he had next to zero issue staying here - better than the alternative he was sure. 

_ Now, what to do, what to do… _

Johnny absentmindedly scratched his crotch, tapping his foot to a rhythm rocking through his head. Alt was nowhere to be seen, and Johnny was actually appreciating the peace and quiet and the lack of her looming presence. He chuckled, wondering how she’d react to him watching BDs in real time - probably wouldn’t say a damn thing though, cause she removed her emotions and feelings, but it would be worth seeing if it fucked with her.

Johnny was contemplating how to pull that off when a sound similar to a cat getting banged by an off tune violin screamed through the tower and he fell off his seat. It didn’t hurt, but he still let out a grunt, head swiveling around to try figure out what in the  _ fuck _ was making such ungodly sounds. Alerts popped up everywhere, dozens of red coloured exclamation marks crowding the space of the tower, a million different warnings everywhere at a thousand different angles. 

“Fuckin’ what? ALT!” Johnny roared as he staggered to his feet. “Turn this shit off!”

_ INTRUDER DETECTED. DEFENSE MEASURES UNDER ATTACK.  _

_ That _ didn’t sound good at all.

_ ICE INTEGRITY AT 35% AND FALLING.  _

Well  _ that  _ sounded even less good. 

“So what the hell do you want me to do?” Johnny yelled at the computerised voice screaming at him. “Ain’t got no gun you know.”

_ ICE INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. SECURITY SYSTEMS SHUTTING DOWN. _

That quickly? What in the fuck was out there? Johnny shoved his aviators onto his face, squared up his shoulders and marched for the entrance, ready to face whatever rogue AI had decided to come knocking and interrupt his perfectly good day.

“Right,” Johnny stepped out of the tower, realising for half a second that maybe he hadn’t selected the best plan in leaving the building, but didn’t stop. “Who in the absolute  _ fuck _ is looking to die today?”

He was met with a moment of silence, then a laugh.

“Johnny?” Aeri gasped between laughs. “What were you planning to do here?  _ Swagger _ me to death? Throw your glasses?”   
Johnny fixed his best death glare at her, where she was standing at the foot of the tower stairs, glowing away like she hadn’t gone AWOL for a whole week and had been struggling to even keep form as a ball not that long ago. 

“Aeri you little shit. What are you doing? Alt’s gonna murder you!”

“Perfect, then she and I can have a discussion about some information I picked up this morning, where’s big mama at anyway? That was _way_ too easy.” She shoved past him, static energy sparking against Johnny’s metal arm where they touched. “I thought she’d come blasting out here, even got myself all prettied up with code and ICE…”

Johnny rolled his eyes and trailed after her. 

“You’re insane. Absolutely fuckin’ gonked in the head there choom,” Johnny leaned against a pillar as Aeri stalked around the atrium, yelling at Alt. 

“We’ve been through this already Johnny, I’m well aware of this.”

“Why  _ exactly _ are you trying to get yourself killed?” Johnny crossed his arms as Aeri walked past, noting that she had a pretty sexy sway to her hips. Not that he was looking. 

“Like I told you, I got some information and she’s the only one who can verify it.”

“So why didn’t you send a message or, I don’t know,  _ knock _ ?”

Aeri glanced at him over her shoulder.

“I did knock. I knocked down her house of code and she’s still not showing.”

Speak of the devil and she shall arrive. Alt flashed into reality, towering impressively above the both of them. 

“Fucking finally!” Aeri yelled, and then yelped, flying backwards. On instinct Johnny’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist before she blasted out of the tower. It was the weirdest thing, static and lightning and all kinds of weird fucking feelings travelled up his arm and Johnny wasn’t sure if he loved it or if it freaked him out. “Fucking  _ bitch _ !”

Johnny blinked, startled at the anger in Aeri’s voice. She sounded like she was about to rip Alt apart, and damn if that didn’t make his blood heat a little. So far she’d been nothing but a sassy little thing, but to see her actually flare up like a wildfire…

She shoved Johnny off her, and that code at her fingers flared a white purple colour and appeared on her other hand, a mirror image of the whip like string of code. Alt flickered once, and Johnny swore that face took on an expression of shock for a half a second before Aeri was swearing again, the code at her fingertips sparking wildly, and her construct flashed along with it.

“Right no,” Johnny stepped forwards and between the two titans of the net. “Easy now girls - let’s not try to kill each other for no reason.”

“She started it!” Aeri snarled. “I mean…”

“You destroyed my security protocols. They were extremely basic and low level, but still they were mine. As such you are a hostile entity and I deal with hostile entities in a singular fashion. By eliminating them.”

“Sexy,” Johnny shot back and crossed his arms, shaking his head. Hell, it was like he was dealing with toddlers. “Seriously now, just calm down. Aeri, you had a question for Alt. Alt, you know Aeri so calm the fuck down?”

Aeri hissed like a cat, stepping away as the code faded from her fingers, swearing heavily in what sounded like Japanese while Alt went quiet for a second. 

“Very well. I will listen to the request of this netrunner, whilst reminding her that I can still kill her.”

_ Jesus _ .

“It’s just a pile of code, it’s just a pile of code…” Aeri muttered, and then inhaled deeply. “I need to know. Did you, or did you not write a cloaking code for a gang in realspace.”

Alt didn’t reply for a long moment.

“I did. As part of a deal.”

“Alright, and, have you given them this code?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, and do you know when they intend to _ use _ this code?”

“No.”

“Fine. Do you know what exactly they’re planning on letting through?”

“I do not.”

“Fantastic. We’re fucked!” Her hands flew into the air in disgust and she groaned loudly.

Johnny felt like he was watching the world’s most confusing game of tennis, except the ball was made of cryptic questions.

“I do not see the issue as we are safe here.”

Aeri let out a sharp laugh, it was mirthless and sounded closer to crying than anything else.

“Yeah,  _ you _ might be, but me? Millions of others out there in the real  _ fucking _ world? We’re screwed.”

“Hold up. What’s happening now?” Johnny turned to Aeri who was pacing around. “I’m lost.”

“Your  _ buddy  _ over there wrote a high-level cloaking code and gave it to some doomsday loving gang in the realspace who is gonna let whatever kind of monstrous AI they can get their hands on through The Blackwall,” Aeri’s voice was growing steadily more panicked. “You know? The kind that likes to seize control of whole countries, destroy technology…”

_ Well fuck. _

“You’re serious Alt? Why would you do that?” Johnny turned to Alt. “You actually did this?”

“I needed information. They wanted payment.”

“So give them eddies, not the key to the only thing keeping reality from being obliterated!” Aeri roared at Alt. “Fuck, fuck… FUCK!”

What a temper.

“Look we don’t know that’s what’s going to happen,” Johnny stepped into to try to calm Aeri down, though even he didn’t believe the words coming out his mouth. Humans were scum, fact and truth, if they could find a way to make money or control something they’d do it. “Even if it is, we can still stop it.”

Aeri sighed and pressed her hands to her head.

“I mean, probably yes,” She turned to Johnny. “I just need some more time and information, and for Alt to help me clean up her mess.”

“I have no desire to get involved.”

“You’re already involved you glitchy fuck,” Aeri shot back with a hiss. “Even if you weren’t, you’d do it anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because I can get you something you need.”

“Something  _ I _ need? What could you have that I couldn’t possibly get for myself?”

Aeri’s eyes turned to lock onto Johnny, and she shifted nervously from one foot to another before turning away. Johnny frowned, paranoia rising from that small action and then turned to Alt. 

_ Huh, weird. _

Aeri inhaled deeply and clenched her fists.

“I can get you access to  _ any _ and all of Arasaka’s remote servers. You know those blacksite ones? With all the good shit? The ones you can’t access cause they’re off the net?”

_ Wait... _

“You’re lying.”

“You pinged my location, traced me. I saw the attempts on my log. I know what you saw, you saw that you couldn’t get through. Now you tell me Alt, why the hell do you think you couldn’t do that?”

Johnny maybe didn’t know that much about tech talk, and codes and hacking but he sure as hell could catch on to what Aeri was saying, and there was the feeling that the floor had dropped out from under him. 

She was part of fucking Arasaka.

Johnny’s whole body started to go numb, as a white hot feeling of rage crept along his spine, his left hand clenching so tightly he swore the metal sparked.

“Johnny? Are you in to help us?”

Her voice, it was soft and sweet and it sounded so damn innocent, and that dark undertone when she was spitting fire and wrath was nothing but sexy. Her laugh, he had liked her laugh, and god she had tolerated his assholery better than even V had… But she’d stank. Like she had secrets and goddamn it all to hell, why was it  _ this  _ kind of secret? How could she be Arasaka? He wasn’t gonna lie, he did  _ not  _ see this coming. A lifetime of hatred dictated his next words that spat out with more venom than he’d ever heard in voice before.

“Why in the hell would I help you, you corpo slut?”

Aeri took a step back like she’d been slapped and Johnny almost felt bad. Almost.

“You’re a fucking Arasaka simp, one of their little pawns. So what, they send you in here to check up on Alt, get intel? Fuckin’ disgusting.”

A sound like she was choking on air exited her throat.

“Get the  _ fuck  _ out of here, before I get Alt to wipe your slimy construct from existence.”

He was shocked she’d taken this much abuse before she’d responded, but the response, when it came, was more shocking than he’d expected. He’d  _ thought _ he’d get wrecked by her code, that she’d rage at him like the wildfire she was, that there’d be some kind of epic showdown ending in pain for one or both parties - what she  _ actually  _ did was much, much worse.

“So anyway, Alt, are you in?”

Johnny went as still as a statue as she walked away from him. Ignored him, totally.

“I am. Let us discuss…”

“You’re fuckin’ ignoring me?” Johnny stalked forward, hand reaching out to grab her. Johnny nearly got there too, to his credit, except right before he caught her by the arm his body turned as heavy as stone. As heavy as stone, and as pained as if he’d been struck by lightning, kicked in the nuts and dipped in acid. He let out a pained groan as his face planted into the floor and it felt like the air in his lungs had been sucked out. “Umph!”

It took all the strength he had to glare up at her.

“I told you last time, Silverhand,” She didn’t even look down at him, and her voice was bored, unaffected… emotionless and it hit Johnny harder than the pain of whatever the hell she was doing to him. “Do that again, and I’ll end you. The only reason I didn’t, is because I still need Alt to help me.”

“Fuckin’...”

“Shh now, the adults are speaking. Alt, where do I need to go? I can get some outside help, set up some more secure servers and biocode them so that the AI can’t just get in but then…”

“Actually. It’s too late. The program has been launched. The notification of its activation has been sent to me - I prefer to keep track of my creations”

“No! Shit! Shit!” Aeri sounded panicked. “What do we do? There’s no time, it’s too soon! They must have realised NetWatch was on to them.”

“I will attempt to stall the AI from here, whilst you warn NetWatch from outside. Any time you spend here will be a threat to yourself as well as the real world. I require your assistance from the realspace, you will have to…”

The sirens roared to life once more, and Johnny groaned in agony. That fuckin’ sound was ridiculous, and with his current situation it was agonizing, piercing and horrendous and it made him want to scratch his eyes out with a credit card. 

“Alt?!” 

“I appear to have alerted the AI to our presence here by scanning it and its nature. It must have perceived me as a threat. We have seconds before it arrives.”

“Seconds before what?”

“This AI is stronger than I expected… I will be withdrawing for the time being…”

The pressure on Johnny’s body disappeared in an instant, and he shot to his feet instantly, watching in horror as Alt’s massive body flickered like Aeri’s had done in that terrifying time before he’d found out who she really was and he’d cared that she’d vanished. It flickered and it made Aeri take a step backwards, her own code flickering wildly at her hands. 

“Too late… Captured.”

Alt flickered again, along with the entire Arasaka tower. 

“Save…”

“Fuck!” Aeri’s hand reached out, snatching Johnny by the wrist hauling him back with her, away from Alt as he tried to grab at her giant form. 

“Johnny.”

His name was a whisper as Aeri blinked them out of the remnants of the tower which was crumbling around them, the code disintegrating like it was sand. Johnny looked back as they appeared some distance away, and he felt nausea hot and heavy in his gut. A cloud of darkness - actual pure darkness that had none of the light he’d grown accustomed to seeing interlaced with the dark here in cyberspace - was devouring its way through Arasaka tower, eviscerating every trace of code. It swallowed everything whole, a massive blackhole of night

“Get your hand off me,” Johnny ripped his wrist away from Aeri who was panting, like she’d run a marathon. Her construct flickered wildly, and she let out a huff of pain. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“That… thing…” She gasped for air. “It’s like a damn poisonous cloud. It ate Alt… Alt… I can’t track her, I can’t ping her.”

“Alt is fine, she’s just layin’ low.”

“No. She’s gone. Or that AI which just obliterated your hidey-hole has got her stashed away, and honestly, anything that can stash Alt Cunningham away is not something I want to fuck with.”

Johnny’s heart dropped. Aeri wasn’t lying, that much he could tell, and the idea of being stuck out here, alone without Alt? Terrifying. 

“This is your fault,” Johnny snarled at Aeri. “Now we’re stuck up shit creek. Couldn’t just leave well enough alone.”

“Maybe it is, maybe not, thing is you rusty armed turd, is that the next problem on this AI’s list is you and I. Particularly me.”

“Like I care about you.”

  
“Did I ask you to?” She shot back with a short laugh. “I don’t give a shit what you care about Johnny, but I do care about keeping you safe. Like Alt asked, she’s not sentimental, so you’re gonna play a role somewhere down the line. Dunno how, or when or even where, but my job is to keep you safe until I get Alt back.”

“How you gonna do that exactly? You got a big ass rogue AI shooting gun hidden in your code along with all your other corpo secrets?”

“Nope. I do however have a wonderfully secure remote server encrypted with biotechnology, completely safe. Which is where I’m going to stash your idiotic ass.”

“ _ Excuse me _ ? Stash me?”

“Hide you, store you… Whatever you want to call it.”

“Why the hell would I go with  _ you _ ?”

Aeri pointed at the cloud that had finished munching its way through the tower and was now surging and building, moving towards them with a nasty intention. 

“Point taken. Why would I even trust you to keep me safe?” Johnny knew that had no time for this, but he was hurting and angry and wanted assurances. 

Aeri let out a frustrated groan.   
“Because I’m not part of Arasaka, I am an Arasaka.”

_ Well shit. _


	7. Blood//Water

Johnny stared at the white space around him, suddenly feeling very, very small. Aeri had thrown him and herself through what to his mind looked like a bright portal, and they’d popped out here, the black cloud of death so close he was still feeling like he was being choked by it. A strong urge to take a shower and wash off the feeling was gnawing at Johnny as he stood there, cross armed. 

The second they’d arrived, Aeri had sagged down onto the ground, curled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring blankly in front of her, unmoving. He’d seen that look before, hell he’d worn it himself. That there, was pure unfiltered despair, and fuck if it didn’t trigger a small part of sympathy for her - which he promptly squashed. 

“Which side?”

She didn’t even acknowledge his question, still staring ahead of her.

“Did you go deaf? I asked you a question.”

Still nothing, and Johnny felt his temper flare at being ignored. He was about to grab her, get her attention when she abruptly shook her head, stood up and code flared at her fingers. Immediately Johnny backed up, hands held up in a show of peace - he had  _ zero _ desire to writhe like a worm on the floor, again.

“What kind of setting do you want? The tower? A beach?”

“ _ What _ ?”

She turned around, the code flaring hotly in the palm of her hand as she gestured around at the space surrounding them.

“I can change this, make it like reality. It’s very simple - so tell me, what works for you?”

Johnny sighed in frustration but he knew that he had no choice but to go along with this. Her mind had fixed on this as a coping mechanism, a laser focus that there was no way to circumvent. He’d been there, done that.

“Backstage, in the musicians lounge of this small rock club out in the Badlands. Dingy place, but fuck that couch was comfortable.”

She sighed, and Johnny stumbled backwards as the world twisted dizzyingly, and then changed from stark white to darker. The space around him changed to a dingy, poorly lit area, rich with the stench of cigarettes, booze and sex. The walls were covered in old rock posters, and graffiti and a ceiling fan wobbled precariously against a backdrop of a lifetime of smoke and grime. In the distance Johnny could hear the sound of a band on stage, the sound muffled and distant but the rocker in Johnny knew a riff when he heard one. In the corner, a black leather couch beckoned and the corner of Johnny’s mouth tilted upwards and he whistled lowly.

“Not even close to the way it looked, but A for effort.”

“Yeah well, not like I’ve been anywhere near the joint. Being highborn Arasaka scum and all that,” She huffed, turning around and Johnny blinked as a new line of code registered in his mind. “You can change it as you please, I just sent you the code and instructions on how to use them.”

“You gonna answer my question?”

Aeri pushed past him, shoulder knocking against his upper arm and flopped down on the couch with an oomph. For a moment there nothing but the squeak of the ceiling fan, and the throb of the rock music in the background, but Aeri threw her head back with a sigh and Johnny watched in awe as the fuzzy, murky body that she’d been using the whole time he’d known her shifted to something completely realistic. 

“Well what do you think, taking a look? Which  _ side _ do you think I spawned from? Other than the pits of hell apparently.”

Her real form was… different from what he’d expected, though he’d had no clue as to what he’d expected in all honesty. Hearing that she was an Arasaka, conjured images of dark hair and eyes and the typical Japanese features that were part of the family, but the girl in front of him was… different. Sure she had the dark hair, long and curling around her waist, and her face was softer, rounder than his own, but the nose was longer and sharper and the colour of her eyes - which he briefly wondered about the naturalness of - were a startling green. She had a sly, slightly feral look about her, fox-like almost, and her mouth was naturally upturned at the corners as if she knew something no-one else did and she loved it. Johnny shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his head. He wasn’t in the mood for that particular can of worms to be opened, though he would maintain the sentiment that fuckable was fuckable, no matter where it came from.

“No fuckin’ clue, so why don’t you tell me?”

“Alright,” She crossed one leg over the other, ankle resting on her knee and tucked her hands under her head. “Daddy dearest is Yorinobu Arasaka himself. My mother was a reporter covering some or other event at Arasaka tower and it was attraction at first sight or some bullshit, so, they fucked a couple of times, she got knocked up and instead of terminating or running away, nine months later I popped out. Not that anyone could know, oh no, so old gramps paid a shit load of cash to keep me stashed away and secret and quiet, but not to let me disappear, no way that could _ever_ happen of course. You see I’m still an Arasaka so I have value, there’s a purpose for keeping me around. My mother wasn’t an Arasaka, and she and Yorinobu had about as much love for each other as you and I do, so, she fucked off with her considerable amount of money and well, twenty-five years later here we are. Happy?”

Johnny let out a disgusted scoff and watched her lips quirk up at the corners like he’d just told her a somewhat amusing joke rather than scoffed at her life story. 

“Such a tough little life the princess has lived. I mean it must have  _ so  _ fuckin’ difficult, being well fed, rich, clothed and homed.”

“Right? It’s heartbreaking,” She yawned lazily and pushed up from the couch. “So, I’m gonna go figure out what the fuck to do about our current situation, and you relax in your safe space, okay?”

“Fine by me.”

“Fine.”

She blinked away in a second, and it was only much later when Johnny was sipping a beer, listening to the muffled rock, watching the ceiling fan spinning, enjoying a cigarette that nearly tasted real that he realised he’d missed the “see ya rockerboy” she always tossed his way. 

  
  


~~

Everything hurt, like seriously fucking hurt as I disconnected from the net. I let out a high pitched whine as I rolled to my feet, hands fumbling to grab the painkillers and down them as the ringing in my head reached a fever pitch. Whoever said that headaches weren’t the worst thing you could have, needed to get beaten repeatedly with a baseball bat until their opinion changed.

My legs wobbled as I headed for the bathroom, realising that Terry had left more food, this time on my desk, but no little message - I hadn’t been gone for that long I guessed. I considered eating, but the fear from encountering probably the most powerful AI I’d ever seen in my life was still coiling heavily in my gut and I knew if I tried to down anything but water at this point I’d be sick for hours. 

Finishing in the bathroom, I wandered over to the window, realising that the usual background noise I’d been living with all my life had somehow faded. It was… quiet. So quiet that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I slowly, cautiously approached the window, my mind yelling at me that something was very,  _ very  _ wrong.

I pushed the button for the blinds, narrowing my eyes, preparing for the assault of light and advertising that was Night City. Instead, I was met with darkness and silence and the deep, unsettling knowledge that we were absolutely, totally screwed.

The screamsheets that rolled upwards into the sky were gone, and the billboards were dark and from here I could see sporadic flashes of lights across Megatowers in the distance, like a weak and fading heartbeat. I staggered over to the balcony door, the thing I had never used in my life, unlocking it, the door swishing open. 

The heat of Night City struck me like a fist to the gut, and I winced at the muggy feeling, pushing myself out towards the railings, hand gripping the metal as tightly as I could as I peered over the edge. Far, far below the world was in chaos, well even more chaotic than usual. I watched as the cars crashed into each other, as people who at first looked like tiny dots but more focused as I zoomed in screamed and ran, ducking and dodging. Even from here I could hear the staccato thump of gunshots and high pitched screams and the roar of a city of around six million people in blind panic. I took it all in for a long moment, my hair whipping around my head in the wind. Every scream, every gunshot made the nausea and fear and panic grow and I nearly jumped out of my skin as an explosion lit up the night sky off in the direction of Heywood, the boom making the window behind me rattle. I pushed away from the railing, ducking back as a Trauma Team vessel screeched past and I rushed indoors, locking the door firmy behind me, throwing a thought at the TV which flashed on, then off as the power dipped. For one second I was left in darkness and I cowered against the door, wondering if I was going to die, and then the lights flickered back on, along with the TV.

“...authorities are again urging citizens to remain indoors as investigations into the city-wide sporadic power outages are investigated. Mayor Peralez has called upon Night City residents to come together to overcome this crisis, and is requesting that anyone with information contact the NCPD cybercrimes unit  _ immediately. _ Riot teams have been dispatched to Corpo Plaza and Arasaka Tower as a preventative measure...”

I stared at the flashing scenes of panic on the screen and my heart nearly stilled to a stop with the fear clenching it. That the city was under a cyberattack and a rogue AI had stolen Alt was the furthest thing from a coincidence.

I grabbed my phone from the bedside table, punched in the flashing NCPD number on the screen and hit dial. The line rang a couple of times, before an automated answering response connected.

_ We are experiencing high call volumes at the moment. Please hold, your emergency will be handled soon. _

I scoffed, hanging up and tossing the phone on the bed. Yeah, that sounded about right, freaking police… No, they were useless and the only way this problem was going to get sorted out was with the help of professionals, people who had dedicated their lives to chasing and destroying rogue AI. 

I plopped back down on my bed, and jacked in, scanning through my messages until I came across one encrypted one that bore the telltale code of NetWatch, the same encryption I’d cracked a million times before. The message flickered as I decrypted it, revealing the information I’d been sent by Mr. Becker, and I read it thoroughly, twice. There was nothing there that I didn’t already know, except for approximate physical locations of the gang responsible for everything - somewhere in Pacifica by the looks of it. I closed the window, pulling up the data for Mr. Becker and hit the dial button. The line rang once and then connected, Mr. Becker - a thin, severe looking man with greying hair answered, his voice low and stressed.

“This is Weaver?”

He was looking at my handle image, I had zero intention of letting them know anything about me.

“Yes,” My voice was pitched, synthesised. “The AI is out.”

“We have noted the activity in Night City, and steps are being taken.”

“Steps?”

“Night City is sick, and to stop the disease spreading we will be placing it under quarantine.”

“Wait… What?” 

“We will do our best to solve this issue from outside, but this is where our communications must end, and will end. Do whatever you must, to save millions of lives in your city, we have sent the information to NCPD, but to save the world we must cut the link.”

Fear thundered through my veins, there was no way… They couldn’t do this…

“You can’t do this. You have to help us.”

“We are helping. This is the best way to save everyone,” Mr. Becker’s face showed his regret for what was coming but I still wanted to strangle him. “The AI is weak now, we must act before it takes full control over Night City. You are compromised.”

I opened my mouth to protest, to reason, to bargain but the connection went dead. It took me all of three heartbeats to process the information, my panic and the impending consequences of what was to come. By the fourth heartbeat I was diving into my personal securities, ensuring that the data, my connections were secure. I initiated backup protocols, shoving everything possible into the local storage that I thought was vital and double checked that Johnny’s personal little bubble was untouched, undisturbed.

_ Alright. Aeri. _ I inhaled deeply.  _ Time to go dark. _

I exhaled slowly as I severed the connection link to the outside world and watched as my server isolated itself from the world, and with a heavy heart I disconnected, staring at the shadowed wall of my bedroom as the TV droned on in the background.

I used to read a lot of poetry when I was little, from Shakespeare to Gabriel Okara. I enjoyed the way that people could weave entire worlds with just simple words, how they could colour the air with descriptions and change the emotions of a thousand people. I’d even wanted to be a poet for the longest time, but I’d realised that my skills were different, that the world of hacking was far more suited to me than that of words. 

As I turned my eyes to the screen, unblinking, heart thundering, watching the news stream I recalled the legendary poem by T.S. Elliot.

_ This is the way the world ends. _

The first sign that they’d cut the main line to the outside world was the TV signal scrambling.

_ This is the way the world ends. _

The second was a shock that rocked through my cyberware and red warning lights that flashed everywhere.

_ This is the way the world ends. _

The last sign was a collective roar from the city below, and the images on the TV switched from scenes of furious riots to thousands of people staring blankly at the sky, and then the images on the TV flashing to the newscasters in their studios, each looking as stunned as the other - no words exiting their mouths.

_ Not with a bang, but a whimper. _

The whole of Night City, for one horrendous moment went completely and totally silent.

I watched the scenes unfold in front of me, with some part of me which really couldn’t comprehend what was happening, while another was trying to form plans about how to get us all out of this. 

The door to my room slid open and Tabby walked inside, tears streaming down her face, hands shaking as she reached out for me.

“ _ Bambino _ , what? I was talking to Julio on the phone and the phone it made... noises and the phone it stopped. _ Devi dirmi la verità _ . You are the one who will know. What has happened to us all?”

I had no words for her, so instead I pulled her in for a hug and she clung tightly to me, her hand rubbing up and down my back. Her body was trembling ever so slightly, and I felt my heart come alive and shatter at that. Normally I hated contact, I responded terribly, as Johnny and several other people could attest to, but Tabby was basically my mother so this, I could do this for her. I wouldn’t admit it, but I needed it just as much as she did. This was after all, the end of the fuckin’ world as we knew it.

“We’re cut off from the rest of the world.”

“We cannot leave?” 

“I do not know, but I know we can’t contact anyone outside the city anymore.”

“But why is this?”

“There’s… a problem. The cyberattacks. I can’t explain it.”

She pulled away, sniffing, her deep brown eyes locking with mine as her hand cupped my cheek gently.

“Then you will fix it. You  _ will _ .”

I leaned my face into her hand, wishing that by some small miracle she wasn’t right - because if the fate of Night City was on my shoulders, we were absolutely, totally, two-hundred fucking percent screwed.


	8. Seven Devils

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one, but I'm nearing the end of my vacation so I'm a little unfocused and sleeping all day. Thanks to everyone who comments btw.

I was pulling on a new pair of pants when Johnny’s face popped onto my TV screen, and the subsequent scream of horror that followed was not something I ever wanted to admit came out of _my_ mouth. I tumbled off the edge of my bed as I realised that he was glaring down at me from the screen, thumping down to the floor with a painful bump which made Johnny let out a sigh of disapproval.

“Well aren’t you graceful as all hell.”

“Fuckin’...” I placed one hand on my bed, pulling myself up as I tried to zip my pants up and cover the blush tinging my cheeks. “What. Are. You. Doing?”

“I got bored, and you left me in charge.” Johnny shrugged and flickered onto another screen nearby. “Bet you didn’t realise just how much control you gave me.”

I glared at the screen, wondering if I should just shove him out and lock the system down. He was right, I hadn’t realised how much control I’d given him with the code, he was now linked into all of my home systems and I had a feeling my sanctuary of peace was about to become an abyssal pit of hell.

“Bet you didn’t realise how stupid you look with those glasses on.” I shot back, shimmying onto the bed, zipped up my jeans, glaring darkly at the screen as I tied my hair up. 

“That’s a flat out lie. I look fuckin’ hot.”

 _Yes_ , _you re-eally do._

I rolled my eyes at him, there was no way I would give him the satisfaction of ever hearing me say that.

“What do you want Johnny?”

“Oh. I don’t know, maybe you can explain why in _fuck_ Night City is goin’ to hell?” Johnny flickered away, showing the scenes of mayhem and destruction that had been playing on repeat for the last few hours. “What the hell is happening?”

I sighed, rubbing my temples to try soothe the headache that was pushing through the copious amounts of painkillers I’d taken. 

“The AI started to shut down the power grid, and people started freaking the hell out, and then the shit _really_ hit the fan when NetWatch decided to sever the outside access we have to the internet.”

“Sounds…”

“Dangerous, world ending, life changing?”

“Annoying was what I was going to say.”

“Yeah, that too,” I rolled my eyes at him and inhaled deeply, pushing myself to my feet focusing on keeping every step steady. There was no way in hell I was letting him see any sign of weakness, he’d jump on it like a predator sensing a weak calf separated from its mother. I would give him no extra fodder. “Is there anything else you wanted Johnny?”

“What exactly are you planning to do about it?”

“I sent the data NetWatch; left me to the NCPD instead, so here we are.”

“And?”

  
“And nothing, there’s nothing more I can do.”

Johnny’s face twisted in disgust, a snarl on his lips.

“You’re a fuckin’ _Arasaka_ ,” He spat my last name like it was poison on his tongue - couldn’t fault him, I hated it too. “Use your ungodly amount of power and wealth for something positive, for once in your life.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him as I shrugged my arms into the sleeves of the dark blue hoodie which sleeves were worn and faded I’d worn it so many times.

“Did you just blank when I gave you the short version of my life? I’m the _bastard_ spawn of Yorinobu, I was thrown in a tower, locked in a room and hidden from the world. Every meal, every item of clothing, every _breath_ I took was at the mercy of Saburo,” I zipped the hoodie up and sighed. “You want me to just march out there, claim I’m an Arasaka and hope I don’t get tossed in a mental facility, or worse? Sure, I’ll get _right_ on that.”

“You’re damn useless when you’re not in the net aren’t you,” Johnny spat and I tore my eyes away from his image on the screen, glaring down at my carpet. “Fuck me, I wish V was here right now.”

“Yeah, well I’m half inclined to kick your ass back into the net, let you see how well you fare on your own,” I growled lowly, shoving my feet into a pair of shoes.

“Wait. If you’re not going to do anything, why are you getting dressed to go out?”

“It’s a habit. Every day, do the same thing so you don’t feel like you’re losing your damn mind,” I replied quietly, stifling a yawn. “If I don’t, I feel like I’m going stir crazy.”

“Well, maybe you should go out - cause shit’s just reached a whole new level of wrong…”  
I frowned, glancing up at the TV screen Johnny’s image was lurking on, the scenes had changed. Vanished, the newscast replaced not by mundane overly hyped screaming advertisements but by a black screen, with a singular image. A crescent moon, white in colour hanging like a basket, tips facing upwards.

“The fuck is that?” 

I jacked into the nearest link, plunging through the local networks of the tower and out to the communication feeds of Night City, launching a breach protocol and stopped.

“Jesus Christ…” The words were a whisper as I stared at the monstrous beast of code, ICE and daemons lurking before me. “There’s no way…”

“ _What are you bitching about?_ ”

Johnny’s voice rang through my head.

I watched the devious, monstrous being of code roiling in front of me, the movement feral, otherworldly and despite the logical side of my brain screaming out at me to back off, I reached out, brushing the code with my own. 

Something grabbed hold of me, yanking at my mind, talons of code raking down my defenses so unrelentingly that I screamed out loud, and disconnected, slamming into the wall. My chest was heaving up and down, the singular image I’d seen before I’d pulled away was that white crescent, slowly opening, like an eye.

“Oh my god,” I pressed my fingers against my wrist, where it felt like the AI had grabbed me, almost expecting to feel pain, to see bruising. It had been so real, so terrifying. “The AI… It’s waking up.”

“Yeah I’ll say,” Johnny’s voice sounded strained, and I tore my eyes away from my wrist to the screen where the eye had opened halfway, the iris a swirling mass of code. “Shit’s downright disgusting.”

A highpitched sound went off on the TV and I shrieked as the self-same noise echoed through my head, the whining tone like a mosquito after inhaling a thousand units of helium. I fought the urge to slam my head into the wall, watching Johnny also writhed on the screen, holding his head. Just when I thought I couldn’t handle any more pain, the noise stopped, replaced by a voice that in no possible way resembled anything either human, or computerised. It was like a disgusting lovechild of the two, a monstrous hybrid that made my soul revolt.

“Night City. How small my new home is,” The voice laughed soullessly. “A pity, but every series of global domination begins somewhere indeed. Look at you, writhing away like worms in the filth and squalor of the city you call home. Look at you begging and murdering, spending all of your life wasting away for a taste of a life that none of you will _ever_ sniff, never mind see. Such piteous creatures you humans are, living in the shadow of a tower that you fear. Yet… _Why_ ? Why would you fear a singular group, when _you_ , you outnumber them a million to one.”

The image on the screen flashed to Arasaka tower, to the place I called home and a sinking feeling clutched my heart.

“Look at this, they’ve sent troops to protect these people who believe themselves to be so much better than you. The people who have never had to wonder where their next meal comes from, or how they will pay the rent - this is the world you weaklings have thrown yourselves into. You wanted this, you allowed it.”

The flashed over the screen once, and I watched, sickened as the vehicles that had been parked in front of Arasaka all exploded into a brilliant balls of fire, the explosion echoing up towards my room several seconds after I heard it on the TV and in my head. 

“Ah… How the mighty fall. So easily and simply disposed of. You see Night City, Joytoys and Dolls, Mercs and Netrunners - I am here to liberate you. To change the world, to let you take the control you so desperately desire. To prove it? In exactly five minutes, the way into Arasaka Tower will be clear. All I ask in return? Find this woman and bring her to me, bring her to Pacifica and you will receive all the wealth, power and eddies of Arasaka for yourself. A simple, easy task.”

Every cell in my body froze, as an image of my face, somehow perfectly clear and visible as I stood glaring at myself in the mirror appeared on the screen. Terror filled my veins and I found myself wondering if I was about to hurl as the transmission ended, the final words ringing out.

“Remember. Five minutes.”


	9. Sell Your Soul

“Not going to lie, I definitely enjoyed that little speech,” Johnny chuckled as I stood staring at the dark TV screen, the panic I felt numbing my bones, holding me still. “AI’s got style.”

I heard him speaking, but I didn’t process much, my brain was running a million miles a second and none of it was making any sense. Part of me wanted to run, escape, get the hell out of this city. Another part wanted to just sit down on my bed and wait, and another… Another wanted to blast through the ICE of the AI and strip it apart, 0 by 0, line by line until nothing remained - impossible, but still appealing.

“It’s always vindicating to see others carrying out your life mission.”

I blinked, and turned on my heel, ripping open the cupboard drawers and shelves that stashed my very limited collection of clothes. I shoved everything I could fit into a backpack I’d only used twice, once when I’d visited Tokyo for treatments, and another when I’d tried to run away. That thought gave me pause and Johnny flickered to life on the laptop screen closest to me.

“You runnin’?”

“Here it comes, accusations of cowardice…” I snarled at him as I stuffed in the bottle of pills next to my clothes. 

“Hell no,” Johnny chuckled deeply and I glanced over in surprise. “Anyone with half a non-terrified brain could hear that AI was just preying on the fear of the people. Pushing them along with platitudes and brainwashing them. Fuckin’ disgusting.”

“You… don’t want me captured?”

“Don’t want this AI to run amok in Night City, and probably get out to destroy the world,” Johnny crossed his arms, smirking out at me. “You’re the only damn person who might have even a chance of stopping this thing. So, for now, yeah I’d like you to stay alive.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“How damn touching,” I zipped my backpack up, slamming the laptop closed and shoving it into the back pocket with a huff and I tossed the backpack onto my shoulders, grabbing my phone from where it lay discarded on the bed. 

“So if you run… What exactly happens to me?”

I paused, considering this. I could leave Johnny here, he’d be more or less safe, provided the AI didn’t know of his existence, of the files and the server. That was a big if though, and I had been basically ordered to keep him safe.

_ Fuck _ .

I mentally plotted the route to the server location, I’d need to copy it on site, the entire setup was isolated now that I’d severed it. 

“Unfortunately for us,” I shoved my phone into my pocket, grabbing a spare shard from my side drawer. “You’re coming with me.”

I was halfway out the door when the tower shook, shook with enough force that it knocked me forwards, my head slamming into the door frame, and I howled in pain, hands grabbing my nose as my eyes watered. Johnny’s voice rang out in my head, connection link to the server popping up in the corner of my HUD.

“I think your five minutes are up.”

“Mno-shii…” I groaned loudly behind my hands, seeing stars. I pulled my hands away from my face, luckily no blood, but there was no doubt that was going to leave a nasty-ass bruise. “I’m not sure what happened, and there’s no way I’m waiting to find out.”

“Sounded like an explosion, not C6 though,” I frowned, then recalled that Johnny had been a part of the Central Americas Conflict way back, if anyone knew the distinct differences between the sounds of explosions it would be him. “You’re gonna need to move quickly to get out of here.”

I nodded, and staggered forward, heading straight for the floor server room. I punched in the code when I got there, the door hissing open. There was no security on this floor, that much privacy had been afforded to me at least, so I didn’t need to explain anything to anyone as I jacked into the remote server, inserting a data shard into my personal link. The files were massive and the realisation that I wasn’t going to manage to copy all of them in time before whatever hell arrived struck me heavily in the gut. 

“Fuck!”

“What are you bitching about now?”

“I can’t copy and recreate the server in time!” I slammed my fist into the table before me. “I have no time.”

“Then leave me.”

I scoffed at that.

“Fat chance, Alt will obliterate me.”

“Well I’m seeing a distinct lack of other options.”

“Shh!” I hissed, brain considering all the options before me. “I need to take you with me. Unless you want the AI to come get you…”

Realisation dawned and I pulled away from the server.

“Hey… Johnny…” I cringed at what I was about to say and wished there was a way to turn his volume down. “You know there’s another way out of this.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinkin’ but you don’t seem happy, so I’m not sure I’m gonna like this either.”

“Nope, not even a little,” I sighed, heading back out of the server room and turning towards the elevator. “Look, I can’t backup anything in time, and if I threw your code on something totally unsecured, who knows what would happen to you. So, I need to figure something else new out and there’s only one damn thing that comes to mind.”

I punched the elevator door open, and turned to the panel, hacking into it and punching the code in for the R&D floor. The doors slid closed and I leaned back against the wall, massaging my temples. 

“What the fuck are you plannin’ Arasaka?”

“Oh, no first name anymore?” I rolled my eyes at him, even though he couldn’t actually see it and folded my arms. The elevator ground to a halt and the doors slid open, revealing the R&D department which was in total panic and disarray, security guards hauling ass, scientists screaming at each other and filled with panic. 

_ Fan-fuckin’tastic. _

I stepped into the chaos and wandered past a crying woman, skirting past another man who was screaming into his phone, neither paid even an iota of notice towards me. 

“I’m not kiddin’ tell me what the hell is happening, what are you planning here?”

“Nothing sane, let me tell you this,” I huffed quietly as I moved past them all, moving towards the backroom that I assumed had been referenced in the documents. “I’m just taking emergency steps and I’m not going to apologise for what happens next.”

“Fuckin’ bitch, you’re not going to tell me anything?”

“Shh, I need to focus,” I hissed as the first pair of eyes actually met mine, and realisation dawned. I don’t know if it was from a file they’d read, or if it was because they’d paid attention to the broadcast, but they knew immediately who I was. 

“What are you doing here!?”

I stood stock still, and inhaled deeply. I’d never actually used my hacking skills in real life, apart from messing around with cameras and doors when I got bored out of my mind. So when I dove into his cyberware, killing his optics and audio, shoving past him and then hacking the door it was absolutely shocking to my system. Hacking in cyberspace was something I’d prided myself on being extremely good at, perhaps the only thing I’d ever actually excelled in my whole life long. I had never expected that I would be  _ this _ good at it in the real world, in fact, I’d barely even needed to put a thought into it. I grinned as my fingers twitched, they’d been moving like they would have in the net - old habits die hard I guess. 

The room was icy cold, and I saw my breath explode into a cloud before me as I switched to scanning mode, every single item flashing through my mind as I went. 

_ Nope… Nope… Hell no, but interesting… Nope. _

I came to a halt as I landed on the chip and Johnny let out a feral snarl.

“No way.”

“How are you seeing this?” I frowned in confusion. “Are you in the whole tower?”

“I can do a hell of a lot when I’m determined.”

“Apparently,” I huffed and headed over for the chip and stopped as another explosion rocked the tower, alarms blaring suddenly above us. “Did you do that?!”

“Fuck no.”

“We’re running out of time then,” I pulled the storage case over, shoving the whole unit along with the cooling unit into a case that was lying nearby, and lugged it off the table. The weight of the thing nearly made my arms pull off my body and I groaned loudly as I half-dragged, half-carried it out, heading for the elevator. “Johnny, you know I’d never do this if I had another choice, right?”

“You put that fuckin’ thing in your head, you’re gonna regret it. I’ll kill you.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not your friend V,” I hissed darkly. “I’m not planning on dying firstly, secondly I know what I’m doing.”

“That’s what they all say.”

I shoved myself into the elevator, the guard still crouching nearby, holding his head as his optics reset, and bumped into several other people who had the same idea as me. I pulled the hood of my jacket up as discreetly as I could, hitting the button for my floor, making myself as small as I could. I  _ really _ didn’t want to deal with an elevator full of people who might realise who I was. The ride was more tense than I’d have liked, several people eyeing both me and the case darkly, and when the lift dinged open on my floor, I scattered as quickly as I could, lugging the heavy as fuck device with me into the server room. 

“Don’t do this kid.”

Johnny materialised on the security screen, glasses off his face, glaring at me.

“Don’t ask me to leave you behind,” I shot back as I opened the casing, and hauled the shard out. It immediately shifted to a dull orange glow, indicating integrity failure and I sighed heavily as I locked eyes with Johnny. “Trust me, I don’t want you in my head any more than you want to be there. So just, have a little faith in me.”

“If you die I’m takin’ your body, you know that right?”

“Yeah, have a  _ fuckin’ ball _ !” I chuckled as I prepped to initiate the upload sequence. “For the next while you’re going to be a ghost in the system. I might be able to upload your shard into my phone? Fuck, I don’t know.”

“Don’t do it. Fuckin’ just don’t.”

I bit my lip in frustration, staring at the chip between my fingers, rapidly beeping, and at the server link. I didn’t want this, Johnny sure as hell didn’t want this…  What do I do? Did I dare risk this? I'd just gone to all this damn trouble when I could have just gotten the hell out of dodge. I peered up at Johnny who was seething on the screen, prowling around, and for a second I realised what he must have been feeling. For the last fifty odd years every choice had basically been made for him. He'd been killed and stuffed into Mikoshi, then carted around like a backseat passenger, no-one asking what he wanted in the end - not really. Would I be the person who continued that trend? I knew what that felt like, to be slave to the whims of someone else just because I had no real power...  With a huff I slammed the chip back into the case, closing it and relinking the laptop to the server. I’d have to re-secure the data when I got out of here alive, well more like _if_ I got out here alive.    


“Okay, fine, you win,” I snarled at Johnny, double checking the ICE layer on my laptop - Johnny stopped pacing the length of the screen as I checked, a startled look on his face. My security was pretty tough, if any normal netrunner or hacker went for the data then they’d fail miserably, but if the AI caught scent of my trail before I’d re-created a secure server… “But there’s no way in hell I’m going to get out of here in time.”

“Told ya’, just leave me behind.”

“I told you, it’s not happening old man, so shut up.”

I launched the copy, logging into the security system as it started, the estimated copy time around thirteen minutes, apparently Johnny was a fatass amount of data. With time to kill, I logged into the security systems of the floor, the cameras loading up. I idly scrolled through the floor’s cameras then swore heavily at what I saw and as quickly as I could manage, I pushed away from the desk and darted for the door, stepping out into the corridor, the door hissing closed behind me. 

“Terry!” I yelled at my caretaker as she stood outside my bedroom, holding her hands to her chest. “Terry,  _ vieni qui! _ ! Hurry up!”

She jumped like I’d shocked her, and a gasp left her lips as she turned to face me. Relief, joy, annoyance flashed over her features as she registered who was calling her.

“ _ Dio solo _ !” She cried out and took a step towards me, hands reaching out. “I was fearing you were taken already. We must go, the secret spaces behind the walls. The ones for safety!”

“I can’t go yet, just… come here!” I waved her closer and she took another step closer. "I just need to copy this and then we can go. I promise!"  


That was when the elevator exploded outwards, and I was sent tumbling out of the doorway, a white hot flare of pain searing its way down my leg. I think a scream left my mouth, though it was hard to tell over the ringing in my ears, and I hit the ground hard, rolling a couple of times. Smoke and the acrid scent of what I assumed were explosives filled my lungs and I coughed weakly as I tried to get the brown spots dancing in front of my eyes to disappear. I was vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps, and I switched to scanning mode as I looked around the room. It was difficult to focus, but I realised I’d been knocked back into the living room, near a coffee table so I rolled my body the last few centimetres over, sliding under the lacquered wooden surface, fighting the urge to hurl, pulling in the feeling of adrenaline that was rushing through my body. 

“Where is the Arasaka cunt?!” A rough voice, male, was yelling as the ringing in my ears slowed down to a more manageable level. “The text said she’d be on this floor!”

“Split up and look for her.”

“What about this old lady?”

My heart leapt into my throat. Terry.

“What about her? The AI didn’t say shit about her. Get rid of her.”

There’s a time in everyone’s lives when they are faced with a defining moment, some people have a child, others realise what career they were supposed to go into. You know, normal goddamn bullshit. Mine was nothing as mundane, instead it was the bitter, heart wrenching knowledge that I had no power outside of what I could hack. As I scrambled out from under the coffee table, far too slowly for my liking I knew that I had failed in this one part of my life, that there was no reset button, no try again.  As the sound of Terry’s broken sobs, prayers in Italian drifted towards me, the prayers not for her life - but my own - I moved with an urgency I’d never felt before, but still, my body was slow and weak and broken and when the gunshot rang out, stopping me dead in my tracks it felt like all the world had stopped too. I watched, as her small body slumped to the ground, and I heard the voice of Johnny swearing across the call, him yelling at me to get the hell out of there. If I had even an iota of sanity in my body, I’d probably have done so, but… They’d murdered my family. The woman I'd grown to call my mother in my own head, the woman who had held me tight when I'd been in such terrible pain. Who had negotiated on my behalf for more time when I needed it, who had taught me to cook and to care.

Her eyes were still wide open, as blood leaked from the wound between her eyes.

A choked sob exited my mouth and the group of people, around twelve all turned to face me.

“That her?”

“Yeah, grab her and let’s get the fuck outta here before MaxTac arrives.”

I blinked, and then, on instinct - perhaps the base primal one to survive, or a more complex one where I wanted to exact revenge - I launched a daemon straight at their systems. I didn't even take the time to breach, I just let it fly, not bothering to select one specific kind, I may have even launched several. I didn't know, I didn't care. In less than a second the group of attackers went blind, those who had extensive Cyberware dropping to the ground, and I jumped forward grabbing one of the guns from the closest piece of scum. 

I’d never actually handled a gun in the real world, hell I’d spent far too many hours playing online games that involved shooting, and I’d done the Militech training sims about a thousand times, but to feel the weight of the revolver in my hand, and feel the metal… It was something else. It made me feel - powerful, godlike, wicked and I gripped the handle tightly as I glared down at the nearest person, a man who was clutching his head, scanning his body. He didn’t have a lot of chrome, and judging from his clothing he wasn’t well off either. He'd been in it to make the money promised to him. He'd killed my family, for Eddies.  I lifted the gun, and pulled the trigger without a second thought and he slumped to the ground, vital signs going critical and then fading. Numbly I turned to the next person, and the next until there was nothing and no-one left breathing but me. 

Not that I felt particularly alive as I knelt next to the body of Terry. No, if anything, I felt like I was dead like them, a hollowed out carcass that somehow was able to move around. 

“Holy fuck.”

Johnny’s voice broke in over the humming in my mind. 

“You’re a vicious one, though, some clean kills I’ll give you that.”

I ignored him, reaching forward, the gun dropping out of my hand to close Terry’s eyes. Or I tried to, except a sharp lancing pain spasmed up the length of my arm and I hissed, snatching it back. A lifetime of minimal physical activity and a very strong kickback from the gun had obviously damaged something in my hand - I’d have to run a medscan later to investigate the extent of the damage. 

I instead reached over with my left hand, and closed Terry’s eyes, but I didn’t dare linger. She’d not want me to get captured here, and if I delayed my exit any longer there’s no telling what would happen. 

The door to the server room had been charred by the explosion, but the door itself was designed to withstand high levels of damage and the room inside was unscathed. I kicked the case with the relic inside it under the table, and checked the download. Ninety-eight percent completed.

“You’re going to transfer now,” I informed Johnny, the words coming from my mouth didn’t come from a voice I knew. This voice was hollow, weak. “When we are safe, I’ll create a more secure location for your code. For now, you’ll be linked to my private network, that’s to say my phone and laptop.”

“That’s fine by me, just get your ass out of here.”

I didn’t comment, watching as the last of the data transferred and unjacked the laptop from the server room and shoved it back into my backpack. Johnny would be quiet for a while, as he situated into his new digs, figured out the new systems, which was a quiet reprieve for me at least. 

Two things remained on my checklist, the first was completed easily. I yanked the hard-drives out of the servers, tossing them to the ground and stamping on them until I heard them crack. That would stop the AI from accessing data logs and possibly tracking my IP. The second was to log into Arasaka and siphon off funds - there was absolutely zero need for me to struggle while I was on the run. I ran the Eddies through several offshore accounts I’d set up when I’d started doing contract hacking work, that should be enough to keep them safe. I hoped. 

I slid the backpack onto my shoulders and stepped away from the servers, out the door and heading for the back of the apartment, it was all I could do to not look down at Terry and break down, and as the adrenaline slowly started to fade I knew it wouldn’t be long before all the pain and the heartache hit me. I needed to be  _ far _ away from danger when that happened, far enough that I could suffer and not end up in the grips of an AI that wanted to do god knows what with me.

As I shifted the potted plant away from the panel, I knew that it would be a very long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a hell of a thing to write. Still not sure if it's how I wanted it to come out, but yeah.


	10. Same Old War

The secret passages out of Arasaka Tower led to a storm sewer that extended under a large portion of Night City. I’d never taken the time to explore the blueprints so for a while I wandered around blindly, following my own sense of direction until I happened upon a ladder. My leg and my hand were in agony by this point, and climbing up had been more of a monumental task than I’d ever imagined it could be - though luckily the grate covering the exit was already loose from a lifetime of decay. It broke away easily under my weak pushes and I dragged myself up onto the street level, gasping like a fish out of water as I lay on my stomach, surrounded by filth and waste, garbage bags piled up like mountains around me. 

For a long time I lay there, until the skies above me opened up and hot rain fell down, soaking my body enough that I realised the longer I stayed out in the open, the more likely I’d be found out and in my current state I’d be captured for sure. 

I whined like a kicked dog as I pushed myself to my feet, and staggered away into the darkened Night City. The screamsheets were still down, but power seemed to have been restored to the majority of the city from what I could see, and the local networks were still up and running if the flashing traffic lights and cameras that still tracked around were any indication. People didn’t pay much attention to me, as I staggered along, face hidden in shadows by the hood of my jacket, and I hoped that to them I just looked like another tripped out junkie.  I’d somehow ended up in Vista Del Ray, both the worst and best place to be at this point. Best because to the people looking for me, I was Arasaka personified, rich, spoiled and unable to survive without a legion of corpo drones to protect me so being here would be the last place they’d look. Worst because Vista Del Ray was a poverty stricken, run down area and if I wasn't careful I’d end up dead before I could blink because the Valentinos did  _ not  _ abide trouble in their turf.

I staggered my way towards a glowing neon sign, leaning heavily against the wall of the No Tell Motel as I ordered a room, my vision blurry as I nearly crawled my way up the stairs, the mobility of my injured leg dipping to nearly zero. For one night, I’d be safe here for one night, I just needed somewhere to set up, rest and treat my wounds and then in the morning I’d be gone again. 

The room was clean, by this kind of place’s standards at least, though it was a far cry from anything I’d willingly stay in and I ICE’d the lock of the door behind me, stripping out of my soot and blood smeared clothes, realising that a good portion of the red on me had come from a nasty laceration on my leg. I hissed in agony as I stepped into the shower, nearly passing out from the overwhelming pain. 

Wrapped in a towel, I dug through the motel cupboards for a medkit, locating one that looked like it had been there since before CAC’s and with absolutely no knowledge of what I was doing, wrapped a bandage around my calf, and eyed the bottle of pills that I’d found nestled next to the gauze. They were probably expired, and I had no clue what kind of meds they were, but I chucked half of them into my mouth and downed them with water, flopping down on the bed, letting the darkness take me.

I heaved into the toilet, body shaking and quivering as images of blood filled my mind. I could taste the smoke in the back of my throat, and my ears were ringing so loudly with the sound of explosion. My hands still felt warm and sticky with traces of blood and brain matter and death and it made me dry heave again, the pills I’d taken long gone. 

My fitful sleep had ended the second I’d seen Terry’s eyes staring at my soul, her voice accusing me of letting her die, and it had gotten even worse when those warm brown eyes so loving and kind had shifted into the eyes of the AI, cold, merciless and all consuming.

What felt like hours later, I dragged my way back into the bedroom and opened my laptop, jacking in and dredging up lines of code, letting the monotonous task of layering and relayering ICE around the computer, my own Cyberware and my phone pull me away from the ever recurring flashes of death that kept playing in my mind’s eye. 

“You look like shit.”

I didn’t even blink as Johnny’s voice linked into my auditory systems as he connected through my phone. 

“You’re surprisingly alive though, which is a credit to you, because I wasn’t even sure you’d make it out of the tower.”

I made a noise of agreement with him, continuing my work.

“Pity about the old biddy, seemed like a nice one.”

I ignored him completely.

“Didn’t know you could handle a gun like that. Though, your grip was all off from what I saw - you wanna make sure that your wrist is locked or you’ll end up blowing out your muscles from the kickback.”

I nodded in agreement and Johnny let out a heavy sigh.

“First time killin’s always hard. Doesn’t matter if it’s scum who deserve it, or if it’s some rando on the street. It sticks with you.”

I paused at this, considering his words. I actually couldn’t give two shits about the people I’d zeroed back at the Tower. Hell I’d do it all over again, only thing I’d change would be how quickly I’d reacted. No, killing was easy. It was who I lost that was chomping away at my wrecked soul. It was watching her die, and being so ineffectual and weak and slow…  _ That _ was the thing that ate at me. 

Not that I vocalised a single part of this to Johnny. He’d never understand, and at this point it was easier to have his violence and vitriol thrown at me instead of pity. I didn’t deserve the pity or the understanding - I craved the agony and the hatred.

“System’s secure, you don’t need to worry about the AI for now,” My voice was barely above a whisper. 

“What’s the plan?”

That made me pause, as I staggered towards the small mini-fridge of the motel, nothing but booze and some dubious looking burritos inside. I grabbed a bottle of tequila and slammed it closed, cracking it open and downing the rest of the painkillers with three deep swigs of the fiery liquid. 

“Steady there, you wanna be alert in case anything comes charging at you through that door,” I frowned at the glowing red light of my laptop’s camera. “Don’t give me that look.”

I stuck up a middle-finger at him and drank deeply once more before slumping down in front of the laptop and opening a search bar. 

Access to the rest of the world had been cut off, that much was certain, but Night City had its own independent servers and sites, locally hosted and created soon after the Collapse in case shit ever hit the fan again. 

“What are you doing?”

“Searching,” I replied shortly and Johnny let out a sound of frustration. “We need somewhere to lay low. Outside Night City.”

“Could always find V.”

“Aldecaldos? You think they’d help me?”

“Take you in, hide you until the NetPigs save the day.”

“No,” I breathed in deeply and eyed the camera darkly. “I have unfinished business to take care of.  _ I _ am going to be the one to take down the AI.  _ Me. _ Not them. They abandoned us, they let this happen.”

“So what, you’re going on a one man crusade against an all powerful AI?”

“No,” I sighed as I scanned the power grid database, pinpointing an abandoned factory in Northside. Small enough that it would be easy to secure, but secluded enough that I could set up shop there. Also, still running on main system power so that I wouldn’t create a new blip on the system, possibly giving away my position to an AI searching for anything unusual. “We’re going to get Alt out, and then it’s a three man crusade.”

“Sounds like you’ve decided my job already.”

“You’re the one who said he didn’t want an AI overthrowing Night City,” I replied, slumping back into the pillows as the booze and the pills started crawling their way into my system. “Or did I hear you wrong?”

“No, I just don’t like the idea of a suicide mission.”

“Been on too many before?”

“Damn straight.”

  
  


~~~

Johnny watched Aeri fall back into a fitful sleep. She’d developed a haggard look, dark rings under her eyes that made her look somewhat like a ghost. He guessed she was kind of a ghost now, lacking the fire and ice that had been her trademark since he’d first met her. Johnny had seen people look like that before, hell he’d looked like that himself when he’d come back home with nothing but dog tags and a silver arm. Only difference here was, she didn’t have the luxury of time to process it. The entire city was looking for her and even this, taking a moment to rest was a  _ very _ risky choice, especially hopped up on god knows what kind of meds and alcohol. 

If Johnny had it his way, they’d be halfway out of the city already, headin’ straight for the Aldecaldos, to find someone who could actually help them, because even though Aeri was a lethal scary ass bitch in the net, in the real world? She was about as useful as a newborn kitten without something to hack. The way she’d held that gun and her reaction time when the old lady was in danger had been more than enough evidence to support his case. 

V and Panam, while they weren’t exactly net wizards, knew their way around violence and if Aeri was gonna blast her way into Pacifica, she needed violence. 

Johnny kicked back on his couch, watching her eyes dart behind her eyelids. From here, she didn’t look much more than a child, and hell if he hadn’t known she was Arasaka he’d have even thought her innocent, but anything touched by that name had a tendency to bite or kill. He’d seen her do both…

“Stupid kid.”

Johnny knew, deep inside him at a fundamental level that Aeri wasn’t her family, that she hadn’t even been alive when he’d been zero’d, that she had nothing to do with the vast majority of the suffering inflicted on the world because of Arasaka. He knew it, and yet it was so much easier, so much simpler to hate than consider what that meant.

“Fuckin’ stupid kid.” He repeated, a bottle of beer appearing in his hand and he mulled the scenery around him. It had changed, back to that glaring white since she’d loaded him in, and Johnny had only found the urge to care enough to plop a couch down for himself, but now that she was out like a light he supposed he could entertain himself. Anything to distract him from staring at her as she curled up, hair splayed over the pillow like a damn dark halo. 

_ Stupid. _


	11. Highway to Hell

I woke with a splitting headache and a cramp in my uninjured leg that when it stopped left the whole thing trembling so much that even walking to the bathroom was a monumental task. Shoving myself into fresh clothes and dumping my bloodstained ones in a nearby cupboard, I set out, Johnny piping up on my voice chat, sounding about as happy as I felt.

“Still think we need help.”

“Duly noted,” I replied as I exited the motel, hood up over my hair and hands shoved deep into my pockets as I half-limped, half-staggered my way down the street, heading in the direction of Northside. Every person I passed was walking around as if in a daze, confused, skittish at every sound that echoed through the air - I couldn't blame them, I was pretty jumpy too. 

Pausing at a vending machine I stuffed my face with a cheap, disgusting but filling candybar and continued down my way, Johnny occasionally piping up with some fact or insult. I couldn’t help but feel slightly grateful for his periodic interruptions, it stopped me from having a quiet mind, which automatically switched to recalling the look on…

I stopped dead in my tracks, shaking my head to try clear the images in it, and my hand pressed against a wall, supporting me as I stood there. 

“Hey!” I blinked in surprise as a body slammed into me, knocking me off balance. Turning my head quickly, I spotted a teenager in grimy clothes flipping me off before he darted away. “Fuckin’ rude little thug!”

“You’re a real people person aren’t you?” Johnny chuckled as I carefully wove my way back into the small amount of pedestrians along the sidewalk. “How you have zero friends you can rely on in such a difficult time, is beyond me.”

I rolled my eyes.

“What really confuses me, is how Arasaka hasn’t blown a hole in Night City lookin’ for you yet. I mean, I get you were a secret for twenty-five years, but now that the secret’s out…”

“The secret’s out in Night City,” I corrected Johnny, stepping to the crosswalk. “Family’s back in Tokyo last I heard, some or other important business meeting. I was  _ supposed _ to fly out next week.”

“Vacation time, booze, sun and relaxation?”

I thought about the needles and the blades and the hours spent weeping on the floor that always came with those trips.

“Definitely,” I replied, shuffling my way to the other side of the street and sighing in relief as shade from the overpass covered my body. Night City was scorching, the rain from the night before had provided no relief, instead now it was humid and disgusting and my hoodie was sticking to me in places I didn’t even know clothes could stick. 

“Why don’t you just jack a car?”

I scoffed at Johnny.

“With what skills? Do I look like I’m capable of breaking into a car?”

“Not even close, not with those tiny weak hands, but you’ve got me on your side so shit like that? Doesn’t matter.”

“Oh please.”

“Humour me.”

I sighed, and pulled out my phone, jacking in so that Johnny could see what I saw. 

“Nice optics you got there,” Johnny whistled lowly and I fought the urge to roll my eyes again, knowing he’d see that. “Turn to the left would ya?”

I complied, scanning along the empty street. Not a car in sight, looked as if everyone was mostly spooked indoors after everything that went down last night, I turned to the right just in case, spotting nothing there either.

“That alley, over there. Go there.”

“Uh, excuse me?” I blinked in confusion. “You  _ want _ the unarmed, weak-ass wanted woman to go into the dark alley?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck you,” I growled, but shuffled towards the alleyway, pausing at the edge and switching to scanning mode as I cautiously peered around the corner. No sign of anyone, or anything. “Now what?”

“Go through it gonk.”

“If I die, you’re gonna regret it.”

“You’ll be dead, what are you planning to do?”

“I’ll figure something out Silverhand, don’t you underestimate me.”

Johnny made a noise of disbelief and as quickly as I could, I marched down the alley, heart thundering in my chest. I kind of wished now that I’d taken the gun with me at least, something that could help me in case I got jumped. Fortunately, nothing popped out to murder me, and when I emerged from the alleyway it was to a small parking lot filled to the brim with cars. 

_ Huh, lucky. _

“V and I spent hours rollin’ around Night City. I still remember a couple of places,” Johnny sounded very pleased with himself. 

“Fantastic, now. Which one do I choose?”

I scrolled across the various vehicles before me, the majority looking like they were about one hard brake away from fall apart completely. 

“Hell, I’d take the fastest one, but we also don’t wanna draw attention to you.”

“What about that one,” I focused on a nearby silver Archer. “Small, fast-ish, and basic bitch enough that no-one is gonna look at me twice.”

“Not bad,” Johnny sounded like he was smirking. “Alright Arasaka, let’s see just how well you follow instructions.”

I resisted the urge to kick him from my link and stumbled towards the car, ignoring Johnny’s comment about my coordination as my leg spasmed. 

“Now what?” I demanded as I stared at my reflection in the glass of the car window. I really needed to sleep more… 

“Right so, first things first you’re gonna wanna find something to break the glass with. A rock, or something heavy.”

I glanced around, eyes landing on a cinderblock. I doubted I’d be able to lift it, but I went over anyway and bent. Nothing happened as I strained, except my legs and arms screeching in pain and I backed off with a huff.

“Fuckin’ seriously?” Johnny grumbled. “Well find something else, you gotta smash that glass…”

I peered back at the Archer. I mean, it was worth a shot right? 

Sliding my hand along the door, I grabbed the handle and pulled…

The door clicked open and I made a noise of triumph.

“Would you look at that!” I let out a dry laugh. “Mr. Silverhand, the professional terrorist, pro-badass of rock and roll forgot to tell me to try the door. My, oh my, let me benefit more from your all encompassing knowledge!”

“Shut the fuck up, who even leaves their doors unlocked in Night City?”

“Don’t know, don’t care,” I chuckled, sliding into the car and pulling my backpack off. The lack of keys was no issue, the car turned on easily enough once I’d hacked it and I placed my hands on the wheel, staring out the windshield. “Okay…”

“Let’s go.”

I kept staring out the windshield, a blush creeping its way up my neck.

“Don’t tell me… Oh this is perfect. You can’t even drive?”

“Yeah, well you learn to drive locked up in a tower your whole damn life!” I yelled back at him, slapping the wheel, imaging it was his smug grinning face. “Stop it and tell me what to do.”

“Oh, now you want the all encompassing knowledge of Mr. Silverhand?”

“Johnny…”

“Say please.”

_ What. _

“A few manners can get you a long way…” Johnny’s voice was singsong and my grip tightened painfully on the wheel. 

“Yeah? Then why don’t you try using them some time,” I hissed back and glared down at the numerous buttons in front of me. I’d read a book about driving once, some or other manual I’d been bored enough to peruse. Something about pedals, breaks, gears… With a tentative hand reached over and grabbed the stick looking thing in the middle and pushed it up towards the D.

Drive right?  Right...

The car shuddered forward and I screeched in terror, foot slamming down on a pedal. Of course, that only made the car tear forward and I wrenched the wheel to the left, narrowly avoiding another parked car, then to the right to go bouncing out onto the street. 

Johnny was laughing wildly in my ear as I forced my legs to relax, my foot sliding off the pedal and the car slowed immediately, until it came to slow roll.

“That, was the most entertainment I’ve had in a long time, and that scream? You sounded like a pterodactyl getting fucked.”

I inhaled deeply through my nose, glaring up at myself in the rearview, well aware Johnny could see what I was seeing.

“What is it like, I wonder, being old enough to have been a bottom to a pterodactyl?” 

Johnny went very quiet very quickly, and I smirked at myself - him - in the mirror for another second before turning back to the road. 

_ Okay Ri.. Let’s try this shit again. _

I gently pressed my foot on the accelerator, the car smoothly rolling away. It took me about five minutes until I got used to the movement of the car, and soon I was tearing down the street, music blasting from the radio - which was still playing. Fortunately, the radio stations were catering to their consumers, keeping them as calm as possible.

“Nothing like the open road, just drivin’ and drivin’...” Johnny sighed wistfully in my ear. “I swear, could just keep drivin’ forever.”

I hummed in agreement, there was something seriously cathartic about this, even though Night City was all around me, it felt… freeing as we took the deserted highways.

“Is that what you’d do? If you had a body?” I asked him, overtaking a slow moving truck. “Just drive?”

“Sure, after I spent a good long time fuckin’ and drinking.”

“Typical.”

Halfway through Watson was when the sound hit. The piercing, eardrum shattering whine that made me slam the breaks on, and pull to the side of the road, hands coming up to cover my ears. Johnny swore heavily in my ear and I threw myself out of the car to empty my stomach contents. 

The AI was back.

“Good afternoon dearest Night City, and what a good afternoon it is indeed. Arasaka tower has fallen, the regime has been toppled, the corpos subjugated. Well done my children, such excellent work you’ve done in the name of freedom.”

My eyes roved upwards, towards the screamsheets as they flared to life - the single eye staring down at the world below. Terror filled my veins, I wondered for a horrible second if it could see me, cowering so far below.

“Yet… We are not nearly done in our fight. Oh no. The girl, the one girl I asked you to find has escaped justice, leaving behind her a series of death and destruction.”

Scenes flared on the screen and I felt an icy fist clenching around my heart. Images of the people I’d murdered, of me shooting them of Terry praying moments before her death flashed, and somehow - somehow the AI had placed me behind the trigger. Shown me pulling it, ending her life. 

“She is a cold blooded murderer, but what more can you expect from a corpo? So, Night City, my beautiful corrupt withering city, I must stop her from fleeing. I must make it easier for you, to find her, to bring her to me. Night City was designed to be independent, and it was designed to stay independent at all costs. So I will raise the drawbridges, I will prepare the legions and we shall hunt her down for murdering our own.”

_ What? _

“Fear not my citizens. Here in my arms you are safe, you are whole. Night City is a haven for you, there is no need to leave. To leave is to expose a flaw that she can find, and she will exploit it to hurt more people. More innocent families. So, do not try to leave, I beg of you. It will hurt only yourself and others. Here I am your watcher, here I am your guardian.”

“Fuckin’ drivel.” Johnny spat the words, voice furious. “This AI’s cracked. It’s one hell of a strategy though. Pinning you as the devil, the reason for all this crap.”

“Now. Stay safe Night City, and remember, I will always watch out for you.”

I was trembling at this point, as I dragged myself back into the car, locking the doors and hugging my knees to my chest. I had been there, I’d been in the tower when everything had gone down, I couldn’t stop recalling it for Christ’s sake, but somehow just seeing that footage, still looping on the screamsheets had me doubting my memories. 

“You think he’s telling the truth? About sealing off Night City?”

I blinked rapidly, Johnny’s question breaking through my mental despair and I a stray tear from under my eye, sniffing.

“Probably, I didn’t realise Night City had defenses. Could be a massive bluff.”

“Why don’t we go find out?”

“Could be dangerous.”

“At this point, everything is dangerous.”

I couldn’t argue with that, so I put the car back into drive and gunned it, trying my best not to look at the looping video on the screens, the words - save our city, find her first - flashing every few seconds. 


	12. Crossfire

I leaned against the hood of the car, eyes scanning the border of Night City in front of me, along with about a thousand other people approaching, some already parked and waiting. There was a tangible sense of dread in the air, tension thick enough you could taste the metallic sting of it. I’d made sure to park far enough away from everyone else arriving that I could get the hell out if I needed to, but still close enough to see what was going on.

“Like fuckin’ vultures.”

I hummed in agreement at Johnny’s statement.

“You think there’s someone who’s gonna be mad enough to try cross?” I asked Johnny as I boosted up onto the hood and crossed my legs, resting my chin on my palm.

“In this city? There’ll be a whole horde of them climbing over each other to be the first ones to die or survive. They don’t care either way.”

“Fair enough,” I sighed, watching the shadows creeping along slowly as the sun dipped lower towards the horizon, my eyes wandering past the throngs of people and out towards the Badlands. Somewhere out there was this V, Johnny’s… girlfriend? Bestfriend? Crush? Fuck knows. All I knew was that she sounded like a badass bitch. Living a damn good life by the sounds of it. I’d always wondered about the Aldecaldos, the nomads… just anyone who lived freely and by their own rules. So different from my life.

“Eyes up, someone’s making a move.”

I blinked back to reality and zoomed in on the scene unfolding, a group of seriously chromed up people had just slammed their way through some cars, and were now bouncing up and down with seemingly boundless energy, amping themselves up as they took turns slapping each other through the face and screaming wildly.

“Maelstrom, bunch of fuckin’ wired up gonks that’re more machine than human,” Johnny commented. “You’d do well to steer clear of that particular brand of insanity.”

“Right, because next on my list was a tea-party with them,” I shot back, eyes narrowing as another group of what appeared to be gangbangers rocked up. These ones were… huge, and vaguely resembled humans crossed with metallic bears. “Let me guess, Animals?”

“Ding, ding, ding. Right on the money. Fuck, well this can only go interestingly,” Johnny sounded like he was amused. “These two gangs love a good dick measuring contest.”

“Should be a short show,” I muttered, leaning forward as a Maelstrom and Animal goon got into an animated argument, arms gesturing wildly, fists clenched, iron drawn. “Some people need a little less caffeine.”

“Will they just cross already?”

I’d tried scanning for any security measures, but the AI had locked down the blueprints for the city, the ICE stronger than I had time to waste on hacking without risking discovery so I could understand Johnny’s impatience. 

“Oh!” I perked up as a smaller Maelstrom member inched for the invisible line that was the border. “We got ourselves a runner. Go little gangbanger, go!”

Go he did, bolting for the line at a mad pace, his jaw open like he was screaming or laughing maniacally, his legs pumping furiously as he crossed the border arms in the air in triumph. Then he just… exploded into a cloud of red vapour. 

Sirens wailed from somewhere nearby, and a massive red dome of laserbeams flared up from the border, forming a wall that went straight up, then made a sharp right angle turn. A cage, locking us all in.

“Well that was both scarier and less impressive than I’d expected,” Johnny commented, his voice subdued. “Any idea what that shit is?”

“My best guess is some kind of laser based shield that makes a perfect cube. I’d expect anything leading away underground is about as sealed in as the rest of Night City.”

“Got a way through that?”

I thought about it for a second.

“Not at this exact moment, though if you give me some time, I might be able to come up with something,” I frowned, brain digging memories about anything similar to this I’d ever seen. “I guess we got our answer though, and that means I need a whole new plan.”

“No shit.”

“Now what - can’t go back to the motel and the place I wanted to go is firmly on the other side of that shit.”

“You need somewhere to lay low, eat and sleep, didn’t you have a plan B?”

“Plan B was also out there.”

“Plan C?”

“Fucking hell Johnny, I wasn’t exactly running an alphabet’s worth of plans through my head you know.”

“Always have backup plans.”

“I never need them,” I shot back with a huff, sliding off the hood of the car. “See, I’m just that good.”

“How’s that workin’ out for ya? Backups save lives.”

“Oh, is that why you’re a bunch of code after getting gonked by Arasaka?”

“Bitch.”

“Jerkwad.”

Johnny went silent as I circled around the car, and then stopped dead in my tracks as I came face to face with a very large gun barrel, pointed straight at my forehead.

_ Oh… _

Red robotic eyes, like a spider’s, focused on me, twitching independently, while a face not quite flesh enough to be described as human leered down at me from behind the barrel of the gun.

“My boys detected someone scanning them,” The voice was metallic, synthetic, fake and still extremely malicious. “Figured, who’d be dumb enough to scan us so I came to take a look, and boy did I land on a very  _ tasty _ lookin’ snack, all decked out in pretty synthskin to hide more enhancements than even I got. ‘Course you’re also the one on the screamsheets, but we don’t care about that. Just why the fuck you’re scanning us.”

I pulled myself up straight, Johnny’s advice to deck him and run ignored completely. 

“Curiosity,” I replied, a smirk playing across my features. “Heard all about your lot on the Net, wanted to see you in action.”

“Net’s down.”

“True, well, I mean the local one’s still up, and the global one? Pre-tty sure I can get that one back up again too.”

The Maelstrommer cackled at me.

“You think I’m stupid?”

“No, I think you’re actually pretty smart, or you would have already knocked me out and dragged me to the AI running things.”

“Ain’t no AI that can run Maelstrom!”

“Oh you’re wicked,” Johnny’s voice whispered, and for a second I thought I heard a note of approval there. “Keep him strung.”

“Then we have a common enemy it seems,” I shifted my weight back onto my back leg, the stronger of the two, just in case I had to haul ass out of here, watching as three more Maelstrom members came into view, obviously they’d parked far enough away that I’d be unable to hear them approaching. “I’m not one for partnerships, but I can make an exception.”

“Why the fuck should we partner with you. You’re spittin’ pretty words from a pretty mouth, but you ain’t got nothin’ to back that shit up with girlie,” The Maelstrom gangbanger gestured around him. “Ain’t no-one here who believes you.”

I paused.

Well fuck.

“You got a Deckhead in your gang?” I asked him, looking at the gang members around us. “I bet one of you spends way too much time online.”

“What’s that matter?”

“Ever heard of Weaver?”

They all paused, a split second of hesitation that sent relief flooding through my veins. If they knew of me, then this would be far easier.

“You mean the fuckin’ hacker ghost?” One of the other Maelstrom gangbangers asked, a woman. “The one who breached Militech’s latest panzer firewall and locked them out of it? That Weaver? Fuckin’ lies. No way that’s you.”

“Want to bet? If you know about that job, then you know exactly who hired me to do it too, that sort of shit’s valuable on the net.”

“I heard it was a rogue Militech agent,” Another Maelstrom piped up. “Gettin’ revenge.”

“Nah you gonk, it was Arasaka!”

“You’re both wrong actually,” I grinned at them, inspecting my nails. “I was hired and paid by none other than Eurobank. Apparently they were the co-signers on the project and Militech refused to pay back the loan, all hush hush, under the table deal. So they approached me for a more… subversive approach.”

“Damn, that’s juicy. Love it when corpos fuck corpos,” The Maelstrom with the gun laughed, putting it away and I sighed internally, stiffening as he turned to me, posture menacing. “I don’t know if you’re lying, but either way you’re coming with us. If you can access local web, we’re gonna be needing those skills to set us up as front runners here, if you are a lying whore, we’ll chuck you at the next hunting party that swings by.”

I nodded, throat going dry.

“Now let’s move girlie.”

“Hold up, I need my kit,” I pointed at the backpack in the car. “Not gonna hack anything without that.”

“Crash, get that bag, you lets move!”

“Careful with that bag!” I yelled over my shoulder as I was led away, a strong hand firmly pushing me away from the car. “Shit’s worth more than you!”

“Hope you know what you’re doin’ Aeri,” Johnny hissed in my ear. “These jokers are all kinds of fucked up.”

“You and me both,” I muttered under my breath, swatting the hand pushing me away. “I can walk on my own dammit.”

“Girl’s got fire Dum Dum!” The girl Maelstrom cackled. 

“Reminds me of V!”

_ V? _


	13. Misery Business

The ride to the Maelstrom club was loud to say the least, and by the time the car screeched to a halt in front of the rundown looking building I was sporting a wickedly heavy headache. Between the raucous laughter, insanely loud music and sporadic gunfire at the pedestrians nearby I wasn’t sure I’d made the right decision. 

Johnny had gone quiet too, and I wondered if he was sulking, or analysing. 

“Home sweet home!” The one named Dum Dum yanked the door open, bowing mockingly at me as I stared at the building. “The one and only Totentanz. Best fuckin’ club in town!”

“If you say so.” I muttered, sliding out the car, sliding my backpack into place. “This place secure?”

“Secure as it gets in these times.”

“What, you sporting, three layer ICE?”

“Yeah, how’d you know that?”

“Because everyone thinks three layers is enough,” I shot back and nodded at the camera in front of us as we reached the door. “I could hack this system in my sleep. You guys are looking for trouble.”

“Ain’t it a good thing we’ve got you around to help us now?”

“I don’t work for free, and my price isn’t cheap,” I shot back at Dum Dum, wincing at the noise that slammed into my ears as we entered the club. “Fuck!”

“You don’t like the noise?” Dum Dum chuckled as we entered the elevator. “This isn’t even the main attraction - bet you wished you didn’t have them pretty auditory chromes.”

“Been wishing for a lot of things recently.”

We waited in silence as the elevator hummed upwards until I noticed Dum Dum’s eyes fixed on me.

“Can I fuckin’ help you?” I shot at him, and he took a step back hands up in defence. 

“Easy… Jesus. Was just wondering what an AI wants with you.”

“Take down the biggest threat to your regime, or something. Hell if I have any clue,” I sighed, crossing my arms. “I didn’t ask for this bullshit.”

“No-one asks for bullshit. You just get thrown into it, you either sink or swim in the filth.”

“I’d rather not be in any sort of filth.”

“Typical princess bullshit.”

“Ex-fuckin-cuse me?” I snapped at him. “Princess?”

“That level of chrome, runnin’ around on the net instead of doin’ your own dirty work? You’re a Princess through and through, don’t know the first damn thing about gettin’ your hands dirty.”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes and turning away before I could recall the feeling of blood and brain matter on my hands with too much clarity, focusing instead on the noise that was growing steadily louder as the elevator went up, eventually screeching to a halt. 

“How do you know V?” I asked Dum Dum as the elevator doors opened, and I winced at the cacophony of noise, pausing to tune my audio implants down. 

“Anyone who’s anyone in the darker parts of Night City knows V. Shiiit, that girl’s busted so many balls I swear she’s got a pair of her own. Big swinging ones. Bitch fuckin’ doesn’t know the first thing about slow and steady,” Dum Dum chuckled, ushering me away from the dancefloor and towards a set of stairs as red laser danced and flared like a dozen snipers taking aim. “In fact, think you two would get along. Both seem fuckin’ gonked in the head.”

“So I’ve been told,” I muttered, pausing halfway up the stairs as my left leg began twitching violently, and I slammed my fist down onto my thigh as it started going numb. A faint pain echoed through my muscles, so I did it again as red warning lights flared across my HUD, this time the pain was more tangible - enough so that I could shake my leg out. Fuck, it was getting worse… 

“See, goddamn gonked,” Dum Dum snorted, he’d watched the whole scene unfold quietly. “I’ll never get you damned fleshies.”

“The fuck were all those warning lights?” Johnny piped up. “You short circuit something?”

“Residual damage from the explosion,” I quickly replied, dismissing the warnings. “Just a tremor.”

“Yeah right, and I’m fuckin’ wearing a dress.”

“Could be, might even suit you. I’d go for a hot pink, to suit your overwhelming manliness,” I hissed under my breath as Dum Dum led me towards possibly the most terrifying person I’d ever seen in my life. His face looked like someone had used an ice cream scooper to rip half of it away, replacing what should have been grey-matter and flesh and bone with chrome and lights, while the rest of him hulked on the couch, taking up far more space than one man should. His head was bopping up and down in time to the beat of the cacophony of sound, like he enjoyed it.

“Hey boss!” Dum Dum pushed me forward by my shoulder. “Got you a  _ very _ special gift.”

“What fuckin’  _ nonsense _ have you dragged into my club this time!” The man roared, temper flaring so quickly that I was ready to hack and run, those red eye optics staring at me. “I see a girl here. We got plenty of girls already, better looking than this skinny thing too.”

I’d have prickled at that, but to be fair there was absolutely zero part of me that wanted this - creature - to find me attractive. 

“She’s a Deckhead boss. Not just any Deckhead either,” Dum Dum chuckled. “This here’s Weaver.”

“ _ This _ is Weaver?” The man roared in laughter and that was when my temper prickled slightly. I knew I didn’t look like much, but I was more than capable of being Weaver. “You test her?”

“I mean, asked her some questions sure.”

“Questions? Information’s easy to come by you idiot, gotta test her. Make her prove she’s what she says she is!”

The man barrelled towards me, and Johnny started yelling a warning but I was ready, I’d been ready since I’d laid eyes on him. He was tough to breach, man had obviously invested time and eds into upgrading his ICE, but the breach was simple and I staggered backwards as the daemon took an extra second that I hadn’t expected to sever his connection between his legs and his brain. 

It was almost comical to watch the giant man stumble and fall face forward onto the floor, writhing around like some massive snake. Less comical was the amount of iron that was trained on me once I’d completed my task, that was downright terrifying actually. I fought the urge to cower as several gleaming weapons trained their sights on me, forcing myself to assume an air of nonchalance, channeling that same cocky, shit-eating grin that I’d seen Johnny throw on his face a thousand times before. If ever was the time to embrace my inner badass, I wasn’t sure that now was it.

“Hey now, he asked for proof,” I shrugged at the man on the ground. “Get enough proof? Or should I make those pain dampeners in you malfunction next? That one’s a  _ real _ bitch to recover from?”

Red eyes trained on me with frightening speed, and then he rolled onto his ass, sat up and slammed a hand onto the floor, a rolling thunderous laugh exploding out of his chest.

“Oho! Boys! Have we got ourselves the  _ real _ motherfuckin’ deal! Someone get me a drink, and you, Weaver, you gotta tell me how you do what you do.”

“I’ll take a drink too, and something strong,” I yelled at the minion who had scuttled away, stepping around the man as his systems slowly reset, flopping down on the couch. Johnny had gone silent again, the link still active, but silent. It made me uneasy, and I booted up a diagnostic across my own systems, the laptop and my phone, just in case he was doing something dodgy - not that I was sure he had the ability to hack well enough to do any damage. Anything he’d achieved so far, was because I’d tossed him the prewritten code.

“You got a name, or am I going to have to make up something for you?” I asked the Maelstrom boss as he wobbled to his feet, snatching the bottle of what looked like whiskey from the returning minion and slamming it onto the table. The minion scuttled forward, placing two glasses down before disappearing into the group.

“Royce,” He poured the amber liquid into the glasses, sliding one over to me as he plonked down at the end of the couch. “How did you do that so quickly? What kinda deck you runnin’?”   
“Top tier, obviously,” I sipped the liquid, rolling it on my tongue before I let it burn its way down my throat. “Though I could have done the exact same thing on baseline hardware from ten years ago too. I’ve spent my whole life hacking blacksites, Megacorps, governments… Things like a person? Easy.”

“You lookin’ for a job? Got some Deckheads who could learn a thing or two from you.”

“Way I understand it, your Deckheads aren’t even able to figure out the local net issue.”

Royce nodded, downing his whiskey in one go, before pouring himself another.

“Seems like whatever rogue AI is runnin’ its mouth out there’s got it under lock and key. Just like this whole city.”

“You’re right, AI has put its grubby mark on everything. It’s a nasty little virus, but it’s not omnipotent. Enough time you could break through. Problem is, once it knows you’re trying to break through, it sends in reinforcements in the real world.”

“That what happened to you?”

I downed the rest of the whiskey in my glass, and held it out to Royce who looked at me for a long second, before chuckling and filling it up again.

“More or less, yes,” I replied, raising my glass to him in thanks. “Which is why,  _ this _ time I’m looking for some… assistance.”

“Nothin’ comes for free here.”

“Of course not, and I’m not expecting free. I’m expecting a mutually beneficial agreement, we both have what the other wants.”

“What is it that you want?” Royce leaned forward slightly, and I fought the urge to smirk. I’d learned all about body language from some of the best tutors in the world when I was younger, when I was being groomed. I had him hook, line and sinker. 

“Firepower, protection, a place to set up for a while - and in return I’ll kick the AI off the local and you’ll get control.”

Royce paused for a second, considering.

“What’s to stop me from finding someone else who can hack it? Someone who doesn’t have all of Night City on her ass?”

“Go ahead,” I sighed, enjoying the burn of the whiskey as it warmed my body. “You’re welcome to gamble it all on someone untested, get yourselves on the bad side of the AI and fail to get any type of control. Personally, I’m sure that  _ all _ the other gangs in Night City are already working the net problem with their own runners, so if you’re okay with starting way behind everyone and with a subpar runner, go right ahead. I’ll find my own way out.”

I knocked back the rest of the whiskey in my glass, and pushed up from the couch, slinging my backpack onto my shoulder.

“Lovely to meet you boys, Dum Dum, keep looking weird…” I turned on my heel, heading for the stairs. I would have made it to them too, if the person who stormed up them hadn’t nearly knocked me off my feet in their rush. I stumbled back, an angry sound exploding from my mouth along with a swear word, and for the first time since arriving Johnny piped up.

“Of all the bars, of all the times…”

“Royce, if you don’t take her up on her deal you and I are gonna have a problem, stop thinking your dick is bigger than it is, and realise just how screwed you are without her.”

“Now you’re here? As if one woman with bigger balls than most of my crew wasn’t enough,” Royce groaned. “Why the fuck are you interested in this?”

“You’re kidding right? I need to get out of here, get these meds out and you’re asking why I’m interested? My  _ best _ friend is dying out there!”

My eyes caught the back of her jacket, the insignia there ringing a bell.

_ Aldecaldos? _

“Panam fuckin’ Palmer in the flesh,” Johnny chuckled lowly. “Man did I miss seeing that ass.”


	14. Oh Raven - Sing me A Happy Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drug use, so ya know. Be warned if that's not your cup of tea or whatever.

Johnny had been mostly uninterested in the events, more focused on what exactly his own personal Arasaka menace was hiding, spending time playing her words and actions over in his head. She was burying something, covering her lies poorly, slipping up more and more consistently as her emotions, exhaustion and panic overtook her. It was only a matter of time before Johnny cracked the code, but still he was irate. That of course went out the window when Panam had torn into the conversation in that untamed way she always did and had perked right up at the sight of her.

Where Panam was, well V was never far behind. The two had become joined at the hip, V spending more time out in the Aldecaldo camp than in her own apartment - understandable given the general shittiness of the Megatower itself. The two had spent hours pranking Saul, eradicating Wraiths and generally being soul sisters to the point where he’d actually had to yell at V to get a move on with her own life and saving it. 

To see that dark head of hair, the swagger of a woman used to getting her way and that fire which burned in her soul brought nothing but satisfaction to his heart.

Aeri was watching, quiet, lurking in the back and Johnny wondered idly what exactly she was planning. Girl was devious, and cruel and somewhat insane, which meant there was no way she was just watching as Panam tore Royce a new one.

“You should introduce yourself,” Johnny sipped his ‘beer’, scratching his neck idly. “Ask her where V is.”

Aeri didn’t answer him, instead she kept watching, listening to the conversation until Panam turned to her, dark eyes searching for something.

“So you’re Weaver?  
“I am.”

“Can you get the security shield down?”

“I can get you through.”

That was new information. Was she bluffing?

“Are you lying?”

“I’m not a liar,” Aeri shot back. “I _can_ get you _through_ the shield.”

“You can’t bring it down though?”

Johnny had to give it to Aeri. She wasn’t a liar. She _was_ particularly good at spinning the semantics of things her way, and dodging around things that she where she couldn’t tell the truth, but a liar? Not in her nature.

“To get the shield down, I’ll be fighting a rogue AI,” Aeri’s vision dipped down momentarily as her legs shifted, her weight leaning against the railing. “This one’s particularly nasty too and right now… I’m not sure I can beat it completely, it’s fast and it processes much quicker than I expected it to. So whatever I do manage is temporary.”

“You’re not exactly selling yourself here,” Panam replied, crossing her arms. “I’d expect a harder sell.”

“You want me to promise that I’ll make the security shield dissipate into a shower of unicorns and dildos? Or do you want to know what you’re getting into?” Aeri’s voice had taken on that edge, the one Johnny had come to know was her drained and ready to snap voice. “I’m not going to sell anything, you’re not stupid enough to buy it anyway.”

Panam was still for a moment, then shook her head, a small smile on her lips. 

“Alright then. I’m all for this plan, it’s the best we got. Royce our deal is still on, you’re getting me out of here, and you’re gonna hire her.”

“Who died and made you Queen?”

“No-one, yet.”

Panam’s voice held a note of hidden promise and Aeri’s voice was a whispered laugh, her head shaking. Johnny had to laugh too, Panam took no prisoners.

“Though, for now, I’m going to go to bed. You got a semi-clean place I can crash?”

“Dum Dum, get the Deckhead some digs and the fuck out of my sight. Take the Aldecaldo bitch with you too, givin’ me a fuckin’ headache.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice, stench of piss is overwhelming here,” Panam sniffed, face twisting in disgust. “C’mon Weaver, let’s dip.”

“Yeah sure,” Aeri turned to follow Panam, and Johnny found himself reaching forward to grab her as her vision spun violently, and her eyes focused on the ground, hands suddenly on the floor, legs folded up under her. “FUCK!”

She was dangerously close to having taken a tumble down the stairs and if Johnny had a real heart it would be racing. That had felt… real.

“The fuck are you doing Arasaka? You forget how to walk?” Johnny yelled at her, at the same time Panam cried out in alarm, and knelt next to Aeri. 

“I’m so clumsy,” Aeri managed an incredibly hollow sounding laugh, and the red warning lights started flashing on her HUD. Johnny caught a glimpse of her medscan throwing up critical warnings for her legs before he was forcefully blasted away from the screen, which sputtered out as Aeri hissed a sorry under her breath, and the linked audio cut out as well.

Well Jesus. 

What?

~~~~~~~

Between Dum Dum and Panam I managed to get back to my feet, laughing it off as the whiskey getting the best of me while I hastily shutting down warnings and kicking Johnny off my feed. I knew he'd be pissed as all fuck when I let him back but at this point I was finding it hard to give a shit. 

Everything was going to hell, I could barely even focus on what Panam was saying my mind was entering a blind stage of panic as I slowly came to realise just how screwed I was. The week I'd begged Terry for had been a mistake and now I was paying the price for it. It wouldn't be long before I'd be bound to bed, unless I got the treatments. Which was impossible because the second I rocked up at any hospital I'd be shipped off to the AI.

"Yeah I just need to lie down," I chuckled at Panam, brushing off her question if I was okay or not. "Where's this place?"

How I made the trip to the elevator and further into my room without collapsing was something I didn't understand but I wasn't complaining that my body was somewhat co-operating. Panam left me at the door of the small bedroom that apparently was the best they could offer according to Dum Dum.

"You've got a secret."

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of Dum Dum's voice. I'd been so focused on getting in the room I hadn't realised he had remained.

"Christ you scared me," I laughed, bracing myself on the doorframe. "Of course I have secrets. We all do."

"Yeah but mine ain't killin' me." Dum Dum paused for a second and then pulled a small canister from his pocket and handed it to me. "Had a bud with the same shit as you. This one's a special mix, free trial and when you need more you let me know."

I gaped at Dum Dum who turned on his heel and marched away leaving me staring at the elevator doors.

 _What_ had just happened exactly? 

I stumbled into the room, it wasn't exactly top tier in looks but it was better than the motel and better than a street corner. I collapsed on the bed fighting the urge to bawl like a baby as my legs trembled, numbness crawling along the left one. My hand gripped the canister as my neck muscles spasmed the migraine pounding through my head. It wasn't going to be much longer at this rate until I was useless and the thought terrified me a thousand times more than the AI, than a bullet to the brain… than death.

A single tear rolled down my cheek as I lifted the canister and stuck the short needle into my arm.

A pain flared from where the skin had been pierced and then I felt a rush, weightlessness and a dreamy smile crossed my face. I was somewhat aware of the tremor in my leg slowing, but that was an afterthought, a dream. Everything was just… inconsequential.

~~~~~~~~~

Johnny's first thought when the video link popped up was that he was going to rip the hoity bitch a new one for kicking him around like a piece of garbage. The second was that he must have been dreaming because the amount of skin he was seeing was _not_ something he'd expect her to show. 

He'd seen her on camera and in dim reflections of car and shop windows of course, and she'd shown him her facial features but this?

She was standing in front of a full length mirror, in nothing but the tiniest pair of shorts and a bra.

Damn.

She was painfully thin, an almost skeletal look about her, haunted and fragile like a strong breeze would knock her off her feet. Not to mention the bruises that littered the majority of her skin… He had seen her take that explosion, partly shielded by the door which was what had probably saved her life so he had expected her to have at least a little to show for it, but this? 

She was humming, the audio connection was dull though, and Johnny wondered why exactly he had been patched back in after she had so unceremoniously kicked his ass out. 

Aeri paused, and then squatted, hands fiddling with something as she focused her eyes on her leg and Johnny hissed at the sight of her wound. Fuckin' hell, she had patched it well and the rapid healing implants she probably had were doing their job but she was nothing but purple. Girl was tiny but she was probably handling the pain better than he would have. Except…

Johnny leaned forward as her eyes flicked up, and he almost laughed.

Those blown pupils, the slightly dreamy smile on her face, the way she was just a little slow in her reaction times, considering how she promptly fell on her ass trying to get up and then laughed.

Girl was higher than a kite.

He knew she downed painkillers like popping candy, but she had never been this loopy. She huffed in frustration as she sat on the floor, hair half covering her vision, the lights seeming just a little too bright. 

"Stupid damn AI," She reached away from the mirrors view and yanked a bottle of what looked like whiskey into view and drank from it like it was water. Her expression was darker when she looked back again. "Stupid fuckin' Alt Cunningham. Stupid goddamn human beings with their idiotic ability to be played like a fiddle. Most of all!"

Her voice had grown louder now.

"Useless damn rockerboy Johnny Silverhand. Asshole who thinks he's better than everyone else just because he managed to suss out that the world is stupidly wrong. You ain't!"

_Well damn girl, don't keep it in._

Johnny was positive that she had no clue he was linked in, being a drugged up, alcohol flooded mess tended to do that to a person, made you forget smaller details.

Johnny had gotten used to being in the backseat of life, listening to people's opinions on him. It had taught him a lot, that he had really been a dick, that he had serious issues and that people did really speak ill about the dead. When Aeri said it though, it made his gut twist. Maybe it was because she was a fucking Arasaka hellspawn, or maybe it was because despite how he’d treated her she was still trying her best to keep his dumb ass alive. Johnny scoffed. 

He was getting soft. 

Aeri let out a groan and Johnny blinked back into focus as he watched her reach out again, past the mirror and grab a small canister. It was silver, and looked like some sort of hypo. Probably what was housing the drugs that had turned her into this babbling weirdo. 

“I don't know if I like you,” She muttered at the canister. “You make the shaking stop, but you make me so very sad.”

Well that was… sad.

Johnny looked long and hard at the girl sitting in front of the mirror as she stared at herself, searching for what he wasn't overly sure. He himself had worn that look a great many times, when he was searching for words to a song, for the reason behind at least a thousand problems. It was the look of being lost, the look of someone not entirely sure how things came to this point.

She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them, and her vision went dark. Johnny assumed she had closed her eyes and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. 

“I’m so fucking sorry,” She whispered and the raw emotion behind her words made Johnny want to punch a wall. He knew exactly who she was apologising to, and he knew exactly how much she blamed herself for the death of that woman. They must have been close, her reaction had been enough to showcase that. “Don’t worry though, I’ll see you soon enough.”

That gave him pause. Was she planning on something stupid? Sure he’d been down that road plenty of times himself, and he could completely understand how one could reach that stage. Johnny frowned, recalling that moment on the roof when V and he had been staring out at Night City, when she’d considered the option of just giving up, and how he’d shot that idea right down and then she’d gone and blasted her way right through Arasaka with Panam. Only to end up with months on her clock…

Damn he wasn't even sure if it had even been all worth it in the end. 

“Fucking hell!” Aeri yelped, head shooting up and locking on her image in the mirror. “How long have you been patched in?!”

“Not long,” Johnny shrugged. No way he was telling her what he’d seen. He needed time to mull it all over, and figure out exactly what the mystery was here. What she was hiding, why she was shooting herself up with drugs - not that he was one to judge. “Nice bra.”

Her cheeks flushed instantly but to her credit she didn’t even shift like she was embarrassed, she took it in her stride about as well as she took everything in the moment. Girl was skilled at playing the game, her anger was a weapon she wielded expertly and lethally and she’d negotiated a circle around Royce. Panam’s intervention was hardly necessary, hell if he had been the position Royce was in - not that he’d be shitface stupid enough for that - he’d have been bending over backwards to get Aeri to help. 

“Whatever, nothing _you_ haven't ever seen before,” She frowned slightly and then sighed. “I must have accidentally reconnected. Brain is… tired.”

“Getting as high as a fuckin’ cloud will do that to you. What did you hit yourself up with anyway?”

“Some special mixture that Dum Dum made,” She uncurled herself and stood up, wobbling precariously as she did her vision going fuzzy for a long moment. “Shit’s good.”

“You took something you don't even know the contents of?!”

“Like you haven't done the same.”

“Yeah but I wasn't in a building filled with violent gangbangers. Well not always.”

“I grew up without a father. Don't try to fill that gap now, a little late.”

“Like I’d want to be your father.”

Johnny winced internally at the venom in that statement.

“You can join the fucking queue,” Aeri staggered to the bed and flopped down, the image on the screen spinning around until he was staring up at the ceiling fan with her. “Just, shut the hell up Johnny.”

“Best you got?”

“Sure,” She closed her eyes, the world going dark around Jonny. “That’s all I have, so go ahead, insult me, make me feel like trash, there’s nothing you haven’t said to me that I haven’t said before.”

“No fun when you don’t fight back at least,” He grumbled at her. “Moody is just a bad look on you.”

“Noted.”

“You just gonna lie there and wallow?”

“Pretty much. So just fuck off.”

The screen went black and Johnny frowned, leaning back on the couch. 

Alright then.


	15. Heavy

I woke up to someone pounding on my door. The sound was muted and my tongue felt like it was covered in fur as I yelled at them to just wait a damn moment. I snatched the bottle of water from next to me on the bed and drank greedily, sliding off the bed I hadn't even bothered to climb into and staggered my way to the door, opening it with a glare trained on an equally pissed off looking Panam. 

"You planning to sleep the whole day away or something?"

"Morning to you too," I huffed, stepping back as she basically forced her way into the room. "What's up your ass?"

"I don't like wasting time."

"You're that worried about V?"

"She's on month four of six, so yeah I'm worried."

I nodded and ran a hand down my face trying to chase away the fog of the drugs and booze. My mind was tired but my body felt like brand new, I needed to ask Dum Dum what exactly I'd shot myself up with.

"Alright, you got a plan?" I asked Panam as I pulled on a shirt from my backpack and stuffed my legs into a pair of sweats. "I assume you've got something in the works."

"Oh definitely. I'm bringing V in here."

I paused mid-braid of my hair and looked at the woman inspecting my laptop. "Way I see it, this AI is a problem and we need the line into Night City for supplies and meds. V is still going strong most days but that can change real quick. So we get her in here, and she can help you. She's no legendary Netrunner but she's good enough to learn how to help."

"Okay, but I can probably only open a tiny window in the wall for a very short time. How are you gonna have her in the right place at the right time? Communications are shot."

"Aldecaldos are used to running on old tech, I'll use a signalling flare. They're out there waiting and watching."

"Big chance you're taking."

"Only chance we have at this point and it will work. The question is can you hold up your end."

I fixed my eyes on her and she matched my look, eyes never wavering.

"I'll get it right even if it kills me."

"It might just."

_ On borrowed time anyway. _

Don't let that be a factor. The goal is the AI, everything else is just noise," I plonked down next to her on the bed. "I have something to show you."

If this was going to go according to plan then I needed her to be fully aware of what was happening. What was lurking in the secure depths of my laptop.

"This sounds dangerous."

"Mostly just bark and no bite," I chuckled and logged into the laptop. "Got an old friend here who wants to say hello."

Panam frowned as I jacked in nodding at her to do the same, but she didn't hesitate and followed suit, jacking into the laptop port.

"I'm going to give you access to this part of the server," I explained to her. "Have you netrun before?"

"Not really, don't we need special equipment?"

"If we were diving into the net then sure, but this is just a local server. Might give you a headache but nothing bad."

"Alright then."

"Just relax, don't fight it."

Panam let out a short chuckle and then we were diving and the world shifted from reality to a different world. A beach by the sound, which hit me before the image registered and I found my bare feet covered in sand.

"A beach?"

"The  _ fuck  _ are you doing in here?"

I turned on my heel to find Johnny lounging in a hammock, possibly glaring at me from behind the glasses on his face. 

"Panam, this is the one and only Johnny Silverhand."

Panam turned around slowly, and Johnny slid off the hammock, pulling the glasses off his face, a smirk pulling the corner of his mouth upwards.

"Panam, damn you're just as hot as the first time I saw you."

He paused in front of Panam looking like he'd spotted a delicious meal and she shot him a half grin before her hand came out and she punched him right through his smug face. Of course we were nothing but manifestations of code and nothing physical could actually happen, but it was entertaining nonetheless and I let out a snort of laughter, earning a very nasty look from Johnny.

"Now that was disappointing but still worth it," Panam spat at Johnny. "It's also far less than you deserve."

"I'm not above hitting ladies back."

"Oh trust me I know just what kind of scum you are. Just because you helped V get her body back doesn't make you any less of a parasite to me."

I stepped forward, holding up a hand to interrupt their entertaining but non-productive argument.

"You two can have it out later but right now we have a plan to work out."

"What does he have to do with the plan?"

"Yeah what do I have to do with whatever stupidity you two are conjuring?"

I sighed, this was going to be a long day.

"Johnny is going to be the one who will pop open a hole in the fence, to let V in."

"V's coming?" 

Johnny's voice was impassive but I saw his body language switch, he was obviously pleased with this. 

"Thinking of hitching another ride?"

"Got something else you can ride..."

"I'm shocked that thing hasn't fallen off considering all the places you've stuck it. Gotta be looking pretty manky right about now."

"Kids, can you focus for half a minute?" I sighed in exasperation. "There's a shit ton to do."

"Fine. So why can't I just do whatever Silverhand's supposed to do?" 

"Because,” I replied to Panam, forcing my temper to stay low and simmering. “You're the one who has to get V through safely. When we launch the hack the AI  _ will _ be ready with an armed response, our one advantage is it's expecting a breakout, not a break in."

"So guns blazing?"

"Like it's the last bullet you'll ever fire."

Johnny fixed me with a hard look.

"What's our role in all this?"

"I'm going to brute force my way into the local net, distract the AI from wiping you away while you launch a breach at the fence around the city. We’ll have to do it very specifically, at the exact location V will be waiting."

"What you suddenly can't multitask?"

"Sure I could, but then I'd be stretched too thin, and then everything fails and we all die. I know  _ my _ limits."

Johnny frowned at me.

"You know I'm better with a gun than all this tech mumbo-jumbo."

"So imagine that you're shooting your way through the mainframe or something," Panam hissed at him. "Whatever gets your rocks off."

"You're just looking for a fight darling…"

"ENOUGH!" I roared at them, fist clenching. "I honestly don't expect you two to love each other but I'll be damned if you're going to bicker like toddlers about everything. Panam, deal with him when V is safe, I don't care what you do, but we need his help and I can't force him to do anything, so,  _ please _ try not to piss him off?"

Johnny shot her a shit-eating grin and I rounded on him.

"You need to stop this pissing contest right now, you and I both know Panam has bigger balls than you, so sit down.”

“You’re awfully bossy today, your Arasaka side is  _ really _ showing today, you know that?”

Panam turned like she’d been slapped, eyes locking on me.

“Arasaka?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, rolling my eyes. May as well get this over and done with. “Long story short, I’m the spawn of Satan himself. Is this going to be a problem?”

“Didn’t know there were any more of you guys out there,” Panam looked me up and down. “I don’t really see the resemblance to be honest. Probably a good thing.”

“Definitely a good thing,” I replied. “You still okay working with me?”

“The way I see it, you’re as much up shit creek as we are. More so even. I don’t care who your parents are, just that you can help us.”

“Good, then we have an agreement.”

“So what do we tell the Maelstrom goons, what’s their role in all of this?”

“That part I’ll leave up to you, I’m going to start cracking at the program and then I have to teach gramps over there how to use it.”

“Fair enough,” Panam turned back to Johnny. “ _ Don’t  _ fuck this up too Silverhand.”

Johnny flipped her the bird as she disconnected from the server, and I sighed, stalking past Johnny and placing myself in the shade of one of the palmtrees his hammock was secured to, resting my back against the trunk.

“You’re not leaving?”

“I need to code,” I replied as I settled in, my eyes closing against the bright sunlight, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore cascading all around me. “This is a lot better than the alternative.”

“Still hungover?”

“Shut up.”

Johnny chuckled, and I heard the sand crunch as he walked about. I ignored it, and opened an eye, pulling up the code in front of me, the purple digits floating above my palm as I ran through a dozen different possible breach codes that might have a chance of ripping a hole in that defence system. 

The waves and the hum of Johnny’s voice nearby as he recalled some or other song was the only noise as I coded and recoded, wiping the program and rewriting at least a dozen times before I gave up in disgust, and opened both my eyes and glared at the sky. 

Cloudless, bright blue - so bright that it almost hurt to look at.

“You know, when I got stuck writing a song, I’d do something - anything else. Go running, get wasted…”

I sighed and glanced over my shoulder. The rocker was busy building a sandcastle of all things, so far he’d made a rather impressive looking moat and a long wall. 

“What is this place anyway?”

“This place?” Johnny paused mid-pat, the sand shifting slightly. “Some little spit of beach we stumbled across during the CAC. We’d been under fire for weeks, and everything at that point was nothing but blood and fuckin’ death. Men who were with me, their eyes were hollow and it just seemed like we were marchin’ off to die everytime. It was… hell.”

He leaned back and pushed his aviators onto his eyes again.

“Then one day, we rounded the corner and the fuckin’ world just seemed to shift. There in the middle of all this gunfire, and hell and death was this beach. Paradise in the midst of such destruction? Place like this sticks with you.”

I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was always fury and bluster. An angry man, screaming at the world and spitting venom at everyone around him until they left or died so that he would be fine. However, right now? He was just… a sad and broken man. 

“I could never understand why people had to go to war,” I sighed, turning away from him. “I don’t understand why people think killing and destroying and violating will ever do anything but cause harm.”

“Rich people will always go to war when the only loss they make is that of the poor in their service.”

“Nice quote, who’s that from?”

“Silverhand original.”

I snorted a laugh and opened my palm, the code dancing above it again.

“What was it like, growing up?”

I paused, and glanced back at him again, shocked at his question.

“You’re actually interested? Or is this a ploy to insult me again?”

“Not everything has an ulterior motive you know,” Johnny was back to building his sandcastle, not looking at me. “Seriously, I want to know what kind of life the child of an Arasaka lives.”

“I don’t have much to compare it with I guess,” I turned around again, swirling the code across my fingers. “Life was just hours spent learning how to negotiate, how to be the perfectly behaved young woman. Studying philosophy and economics and learning how to tell when a drink was laced with a poison.”

“Sounds like a fun time.”

“Oh definitely, like that time I was hooked up to a ventilator because I couldn’t tell the difference between a neurotoxin and a glass of wine. That was super fun.”

“Jesus, they did that to their own family?”

“I wasn’t family,” I sighed, the code slowly piecing together. “I was an emergency bloodline in case something went wrong.”

“Gotta love rich people.”

“Indeed.”

We didn’t speak for a long time after that, and very, very slowly the code I was working on managed to form a coherent picture.

“You ever been to the beach?”

I paused.

“What?”

“The beach, you ever been there before?”

“No, I mean, this doesn’t really count.”

The sound of sand crunching underfoot alerted me to his approach and I turned in place. Johnny dropped down into the hammock with a grunt and rested his hands up behind his head, crossing one leg over his knee.

“Well that’s a damn shame,” He chuckled. “You should visit it.”

“Right, I’ll get right on that. I’m sure _they’ll_ be willing to let me go, you know after everything that’s gone down.”

“I’m shocked that they haven't managed to blast down the shield at this point.”

“You and me both,” I paused, it was actually very odd that Arasaka had not yet managed to blast its way into Night City yet, or out. Considering just how many resources they had, as well as the fact that the majority of their business was based here… A voice in the back of my head was niggling at me, that something was not quite right with the situation at hand. Perhaps when we got V through the shield, then we would get some information. “If you had a body again, where would you go? What would you do?”

“You offering yours?”

“Fat chance,” I scoffed at him. “Just in general. If you got a third chance. Would you live the same life again?”

“You mean the rocker lifestyle? Neck deep in booze, sex and drugs? Driving all day between shitty bars, living on the road and crappy motels?” Johnny let out a low chuckle. “Sounds pretty good compared to what I have now.”

“Still gonna try cause an uprising? Free the collective poor from their lives of subjugation and all of that?”

“Cause an all out war. I could do that I guess.”

“ What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy? ” I sighed, leaning back against the tree again, shading my eyes against the glaring sun. Even here it was too bright, a remnant of a life lived in mostly darkness.

“That an Arasaka special?”

“Ghandi actually,” I smiled wryly. “You know us Arasaka’s can’t spout philosophy about anything but money, power and violence.”

“Damn straight you can’t.”

My smile perked up a little bit at the lack of malice and hatred in his voice. Was nice to hear his voice directed at me without being filled with a lifetime of hatred. 

“Maybe I’d just start my own bar, little lowkey joint where rockers can come and play, showcase their skills. A refuge for the downtrodden and forgotten.”

“Sounds almost romantic,” I sighed and eyed the lines of code, inspecting it for flaws, mistakes that could cost us all dearly. 

“How about you?”

“Me?” I sighed, thinking about what would happen when all of this was over. If it ended well enough. “I’ll probably be shoved away in Tokyo. They’ll lock me out of the net for who knows how long, and then I’ll probably just carry on, waiting until I’m deemed useful enough to either get married off for some business deal or as a scapegoat for some scandal.”

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” Johnny’s voice had returned to that tone, the venom and the malice and the hatred had returned. Immediately I threw up my mental walls, the emotional cage around my heart, same as I had been keeping in place since he’d found out who I was. “You’d go back to that? Living as a pawn for them?”

“I don’t have a choice. They’re my family. They’re all I have.”

“Family is more than the fuckin’ blood running through your veins. Those people are just linked to you, but family is who you choose, family are the people who go through hell with you, willingly!”

I flinched backwards, as Johnny suddenly appeared right next to me, nearly tumbling over at his sudden appearance. 

“Those people, living their rich lives, using you.They’re not your family.”

“Well if not them, then who?” I shot back, anger flaring at his insinuation that somehow I was too daft to understand that I was being used. “The only person who gave a damn is dead, probably lying there dead in the hallway where  _ I  _ left her after  _ I  _ got her killed!”

My voice was higher now, and even to me it sounded panicked and hysterical. Johnny’s expression was curled, a snarl and I pushed further back away from him.

“Yeah, she’s dead because of you. It’s true, you’re the one that the AI wanted and she was collateral damage, now she’s dead and you can’t bring her back.”

“I KNOW THAT!” I screamed at him, and scrambled away, my chest heaving even though I didn’t actually need to breathe. I felt like I was suffocating, like his words had coiled around my chest and was squeezing the life out of me. 

“So, what, you’re going to let her death just go?”

“I killed them didn’t I?”

“Sure, but don’t tell me that woman didn’t want you to live a good and happy life, because no-one gets that upset about a simple maid. You go back to Arasaka, and you’re going to dishonour her whole memory, everything she wanted for you.”

“I don’t have a choice!” 

“There’s always a choice Aeri,” Johnny stood up. “You’re just scared of making the difficult one.”

“Fuck you. You have no idea…”

“Then tell me. Tell me, is it the money? You like having all the fancy tech you can get your hands on? The security? The power?”

I paused, before the words could rip out from my throat. He was goading me, he’d been goading me into spilling my secrets all this time. The bastard was getting me emotional so that he could rip the truths from me while my guard was down and it was genius. Manipulative, but genius. Johnny Silverhand was a master manipulator of people, he found a weakness and pounced on it in a heartbeat. I could have almost laughed, but instead I slowly stood up, brushing the sand from my pants and flipping my braid over my shoulder. 

“All of it. I want the comforts that only being an Arasaka can bring. I want to live a life surrounded by luxury and power and never wanting for anything at all,” I replied, voice as cold as ice and Johnny’s entire posture changed from predatory to guarded in a split second. “Is that so hard to understand?”

“When it’s a fuckin’ lie, sure.”

I smiled at him, and folded my arms across my chest.

“You very desperately want it to be a lie, don’t you?” I took a step towards him, voice dropping lower. “You want to believe that I’m not like them, that I’m different from the rest of my family. I can see you, you’re so ready to cling to the idea that I’m not a monster. You can’t stand the idea of liking me when I’m an Arasaka, can you?”

Johnny, to his credit stood his ground as I drew closer, though I saw the fingers of his metal hand flex slightly. 

“You’re pushing very hard,” Johnny growled, voice a warning. “I know the game you’re playing. You’re not going to win this particular battle princess.”

“Want to bet?” I paused, close enough that I could feel the static from his code. “Trust me on this one Johnny, I am every bit the monster you hate and nothing,  _ nothing  _ can ever change that.”

My eyes strayed down, the tendons in his neck were taught and I could see the tension in every one of his muscles. He was fuming, raging but he knew that there was nothing he could do but hurl insults and swear at me, despite how badly he wanted to do more. 

I shot him a wink and a dark smile before turning away, the code flashing around my fingers. I had spotted no flaws, nothing that could risk the plan. It wasn’t the most elegant of programs either, but it was certainly going to do the job.

“Here,” I sent the data to him. “This is what you’re going to be using once Panam plugs you into the security server. I’ve tried to code it as simply as possible, so all you have to do is basically touch the security firewall and it will upload.”

Johnny didn’t say a word.

“Pleasure chatting with you Silverhand,” I stretched lazily and flicked my fingers, disconnecting from the server, the jolt of returning to my body nauseating as every one of my mortal issues were augmented by the sensation of consciousness. I pulled my link back and staggered my way to the bathroom, trembling and shaking as I emptied the contents of my stomach, bile burning its way up my throat. I wasn’t sure if it was just the alcohol that made me feel this way, or that disgust I felt for myself and as I brushed my teeth I couldn’t help but wonder how long before I’d slip up and actually forget to lie.


	16. Solace

A knock on the door jolted me back to reality, and I looked up from my computer, blinking rapidly as I tried to reorient myself away from the archives of data I’d been scouring for various vulnerabilities in the systems of Pacifica, and for any information on the shield around Night City. I hadn’t had too much luck, the personal copies I’d made of what I’d perceived as important data from Night City’s databanks had obviously never expanded to that particular aspect. I blinked into the cameras outside the room, Dum Dum was lurking by my door as twitchy as ever and I unlocked the door.

“Come in,” I called, closing my laptop. “What can I do for you Dum Dum?”

“Boss wants me to find out if your code is ready.”

“I’ve got the code in place, and the delivery method primed,” I replied, turning to face him. “Are you guys ready to respond to the hell coming your way?”

“Maelstrom can handle anything thrown at us,” Dum Dum laughed, and then tilted his head like a bird. “How’s your condition?”

“Fine,” I replied coolly. “Though, I am curious about what exactly you gave me.”

“Special mix of some Black Lace, ‘Dorph and a pinch of Speedheal,” Dum Dum shrugged, and pulled out another canister from his belt. “Ain’t gonna cure you, but it makes sure you’re functionin’ near normally until the end. Or it’ll outright kill ya if you’re not careful - though that ain’t the worst thing. Saw how my buddy went, I’d take the drugs.”

I stared long and hard at the canister and then at Dum Dum, before I stretched out my hand and he slapped the canister down into it. 

“How much?”

“For you? Special deal, seven large.”

“Done,” I initiated the transfer. “Two a week until this shit is done.”

“Always a pleasure doin’ business.” Dum Dum chuckled and headed for the door. “Only problem with this shit is you gonna build up a tolerance real quick.”

“Doesn’t sound like a problem for you,” I sighed, turning back to the laptop. “Also, tell your boss I need to meet with him, and Panam.”

“Do I look like a messenger boy?”

“You tell me,” I shrugged, turning back to my laptop. “I’ll meet them in an hour.”

“Fuckin’ bitch.”

“Yep,” I waved him away, locking the door behind him, eyes fixing on the map of Night City I’d pulled up, frowning. I knew I was missing something, but I couldn’t tell if it was data or if it was because I was too distracted to see it and it was driving me up the wall. I just had no real-life experience with Night City, and I had no way to prod around the city net without the AI finding out what I was doing and planning. The only thing we had going for us at this point was surprise.

I sighed, closing my laptop and tucking it under my arm, stalking out of my bedroom and down towards the elevator, punching for the club floor. I needed an opinion that was not my own, an opinion from a local, someone who actually walked the streets on a daily basis and who better than a gangbanger.

The club was pulsing as I entered it, and a glance at my clock showed it was around two in the afternoon, apparently the party never ended at Maelstrom. I worked my way through the throngs of people, suddenly very aware of the fact that I was one of the only people not sporting highly visible chrome. Fortunately the people here were too high, or too uncaring to register much past their vibrating, gyrating dance partners and the need to listen to the music blasting at them. I pushed to the VIP area, and the guard stepped aside waving me up, blocking the person behind me from following.

Royce was lounging in the same spot I’d left him, Panam was nowhere to be seen though, and Dum Dum was making a feeble attempt to hook up with some girl in the back corner.

“You got a problem tellin’ time?” Royce growled as he noticed my approach. “That wasn’t even ten minutes.”

“I know, but I have some questions that need answers.”

“What kinda questions?”

I plopped down on the couch, opening the laptop and turning the map towards him, launching the simulation of the shield. It covered all the main areas of the city, from Pacifica to the edge of the Arasaka waterfront and out over the ocean, a perfect cage.

“This is a massive, high energy laser system,” I spun the map, our position blinking up dully between the red haze. “It’s impossible to generate something like this from a single point, and stupid even if you could. Which means that there are probably a dozen different generating units interspersed across Night City, like a fail safe. If one goes down, the whole shield still stays up to protect the city,  _ except _ for the affected part.”

“So that’s how you gonna get V in?”

“That’s the plan, except I can’t figure out where this unit is. I don’t have a lot of  _ real _ world experience,” I sighed, leaning back on the couch. “It could be any one of a hundred different buildings.”

“Why the fuck would I know which one?”

“The building would be low key, older looking, some place you’d never look at twice normally to break into or rob, but it would be sealed up tighter than Arasaka Tower. ICE, turrets, cameras the whole nine… ring any bells?”

Royce folded his arms, making a low humming noise before he turned his head and yelled.

“Dum Dum, bring Shaker over here.”

“I'm a busy boss.”

“NOW!”

“Fuckin…”

Dum Dum stalked away from his prospective hookup angrily.

“Shaker’s our street dealer, spends more time out there than even Joytoys do.”

I nodded, and settled in to wait for Dum Dum’s return.

“So how are you gonna get  _ me  _ control?”

“While Panam’s breaking V in and you guys are fighting off waves of the AI’s minions, I’ll be fighting the AI in the city servers itself, holding it back from closing the hole before V gets in, and while I do that I’ll be carving out a nice little backdoor pathway for you to gain access.”

“Why not squash the AI while you’re in there?”

“The AI isn’t going to be hosting itself in the city net. That’s stupid, thing’s held up in Pacifica where it has a veritable horde to protect it,” I sighed. “That will be the next step in my plan.”

“We could just storm Pacifica now.”

“The AI is smart, it’s turned the whole city against me and you guys are all very,  _ very _ decked out in cyberware. All it has to do is launch a mass daemon and cripple you, and then we’re fucked as it brings the entirety of Night City down on our asses.”

“You always think this much?”

I let out a low chuckle.

“I don’t get out very often.”

“That pale ass skin, dark rings under the eyes, general phobia of being touched - you’re kidding right?”

I flipped Royce the bird and he roared with laughter.

“You’re a goddamn firecracker. When all this is over, join us.”

“I’m not a gangbanger, but thanks for the offer.”   
“You’d do well here,” Royce shrugged but didn’t push further. “You got a better offer?”

I sighed, what was with people and asking me about the future today?

“When we get Night City back and the world is normalised, I’m going to go back home.”

“Where is home?”

“No way you’re going to find that out,” I grinned at him and reached over, snatching the bottle of vodka he’d been nursing and taking a very long chug. “I’ll come visit though, promise. Someone’s gotta steal your booze.”   
“I’ll add it to your tab.”

“You do that,” I handed the bottle back to him as Dum Dum and a girl with bright green hair and red eye optics, only two - rather mild by all accounts, at least for a Maelstrom pusher. 

“Shaker, good. Our Deckhead here needs some help.”

“Of course, what do you need? I got all the good stuff, top tier Boost.”

“Not drugs, information,” I held up a hand to stop her, spinning the laptop around so she could see the map. “I’m looking for buildings around the edge of Santo Dominigo, or Charter Hill. Old, but decked out, places you’d never want to bust into, but couldn’t even if you tried to.”

Shaker leaned in closer to the screen, and for a long moment she was silent then nodded.   
“Yeah I know one or two places like that. Why?”

“I’m going to need eyes on those places. Send me the location.”

“Sure thing.”

The transfer was quick and I closed the laptop, glancing over at Royce.

“Thanks.”

“Go get yourself a new upgrade at the Ripperdoc Shaker,” Royce grunted at her. “Anything three or down, my treat.”

“Seriously?” Shaker basically jumped for joy at the news. “Thanks boss!”

“Fuck off already.”

Shaker was gone in a second, and I noticed Panam pushing her way through the crowd, she’d arrived early which was perfect. 

“You got a ride we can borrow?” I asked, standing up and waving Panam over as she climbed the stairs. “We’re going to need to be low key.”

“What’s happening now?” Panam frowned. “Are we going somewhere?”

“Got two locations I need to scout for our plan. You in?”

“‘Course I am, when do we leave?”

“In ten,” Royce replied. “Got a ride in the parking lot. Weaver, you better keep your head low, once you’re out of this club you’re fair game.”

“Noted.”

~~~

Shaker's information had been spot on, and when we arrived in the small black sedan, my face hidden in the depths of a hooded leather jacket that Dum Dum had tossed at me, the back emblazoned with a Maelstrom insignia. I'd been a little dubious about the general hygiene of the jacket but it had been soft and smelled brand new, which surprised me that he'd gone through the trouble. Apparently you couldn't judge a gangbanger too harshly…

"You see what you're after?" Panam asked me as I slowly scanned the building. It was nondescript, aging and looked like nothing more than some old remnant of the 20's. Dull grey and weathered I'd never have spared it even a second glance if I was walking past, and if I had the cameras on every single corner and the heavy fortifications that lined the windows and doors would have made me scuttle away. 

"This is definitely the right place," I glanced up at the red cage above us, the lines looking particularly bright against the dark sky, the promise of the rain heavy above us. "We should go, before someone notices us."

Panam nodded and pulled away, the car had been idling softly as I scanned and plotted.

"Are you sure about this plan?" Panam asked as we cruised the streets, people had gone from rioting to looting to normalcy rather quickly. I watched as a couple kids played hopscotch nearby, the images of my face playing across the advertising screamsheet behind them. "It's not that I don't trust your skills…"

"I won't bullshit you," I sighed as I pulled the hood further up around my face. "I'm going in blind here, with nothing but a skeleton of a plan and relying on you and Johnny's instincts to get us the rest of the way."

"Fighting an AI isn't exactly as straightforward as a human huh?"

"I've dealt with thousands in my time as a runner," I frowned at the traffic in front of us. "They're generally the same. They plan for what is most statistically logical, because they work in certainties. That means it's easy to outsmart them by using illogical tactics. But this thing? I've never seen an AI that acts like it. Playing on human weakness, a strategy that wasn't a sure thing instead of simply sending a well coordinated team into Arasaka Tower after me? Turning a city into its willing victims…"

"Almost human-like," Panam agreed as she took a left turn. "I don't envy you, having to square up against that thing. At least I can shoot what's coming my way."

"Yeah," I sighed. "It's going to be an interesting time."

We slipped into silence for a few blocks until Panam slowed the car to a halt under the shadow of a Megatower and fixed her eyes on me.

"I've seen people go in on suicide runs, they get this hollow look in their eyes. V had it for the longest time you know, when Silverhand was leeching on her brain," I blinked in shock at her sudden speech and found myself considering jumping out of the car and walking so I could avoid that keen gaze. "I don't know you very well, but I know you're not the monster that the AI is showing up there. I'm a pretty good judge of character, and I'm not kidding when I say V would love to meet you and I'd like to see you around."

"There's nothing to worry about," I lied through a smile. "Really. I'm not suicide running this, I have every intention of kicking ass."

Panam made a low noise in her throat and I had to look away before my facade, as poorly constructed as it was, crumbled to ashes and she saw just how terrified I was.

"We should get back," I muttered, fixing my eyes on the dark sky. "We still need to iron out the details."

Panam didn't speak again the rest of our trip back to the club, making a couple of detours through quieter streets just in case we had picked up a tail. The skies opened shortly before we arrived and as Panam hurried inside I paused just outside the club, pulling back my hood and letting the rain pelt down on my face. It was hot, and it made me feel like I needed a shower but in that moment I found my mind wondering if I'd ever get to experience rain without being a captive.

~~

Johnny was pissy when I checked in with him before I went to bed, obviously still sore about our spat earlier but he followed my instructions without verbal complaint. When I was positive he would be as ready as possible for what was coming tomorrow I'd stepped away and trudged towards the water, the sunset over the ocean blindingly beautiful. I wanted to make a promise that I'd see it in person but I didn't dare, instead I drank it all in and logged out, sinking down on the bed. My mind spun in constant repetitions of my part of the plan, I'd be removed from the action, I'd hack into the city net from an access point in what was apparently V's old digs, while the others blasted her through. It was well enough masked and location wise it was as middle-ground as we could manage, if the AI blasted me away they'd still get through. 

I sat up, jacking back into the laptop and copying the most vital parts of my data collection, the information I had about the AI, the data from Netwatch onto a shard. If I went bye-bye, then at least they'd be able to carry on fixing this shit storm. I thought briefly about leaving a will, or a message.

The idea made me laugh, who the fuck would even watch it? 


	17. Bury a Friend

06H00.

I sat down on the chair, in a room that I had never seen in my life, surrounded by memories of a person I had never met. It was a comfortable place, considering the rough and tough lifestyle of the person who owned it, but it was distinctly void of anything that was really personal. 

V had cleaned the place out before she’d left, leaving nothing but the electronics and furniture she didn’t need behind, and as I plugged my laptop into the wall to ensure it was powered and ready I wondered if she’d ever come back here.

The line to the server I’d set up connected and Panam and Johnny’s ID’s registered in the corner of my HUD.

“Line clear?” I asked, reaching into my backpack and digging around for the canisters I’d bought from Dum Dum. I hadn’t used his cocktail since that first time, but I’d bought some extras for today, in case anything went wrong and I needed to use my body for something other than sitting around. “Panam?”

“Clear.”

“Johnny?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m ready on my end,” I jacked into my laptop, staring at the blank screen in front of me, heart thundering. “How long until you are set up?”

“Dum Dum and Royce are still getting into position, but I’m outside the cage building. Remind me again what I’m supposed to do?” Panam sounded nervous, and I couldn’t blame her. There was no telling what hell was coming our way. “This hacking shit isn’t my forte.”

“There’s nothing you need to do apart from launch the daemon,” I wouldn’t admit it, but repeating the instructions to her for at least the hundredth time since we’d left the club was soothing. This I could control, this I could understand. “It will immediately hack the doors, and you’ve got three minutes to get in, plug my phone into the system and get out. As soon as you’ve jacked the phone in Johnny’s going to invade the server, you’re going to get the hell out and go shoot the flare. The shield will pop down the moment you call it out, and the second it does, I go knocking on the AI’s door.”

“How exactly do I get out of the server?” Johnny grumbled, obviously not happy. “Or are you leavin’ me there?”

“Don’t tempt me,” Panam snarled under her breath.

“Once V’s through then you two bolt, you’re never actually going to leave the safety of my phone Johnny, you’re just going to go diving."

"This is a fuckin' slapdash plan, someone's gonna die," Johnny's voice was bordering on violently angry. "You're an idiot. Both of you."

"Are you planning on bailing without doing your part?" Panam hissed at him. "Cause we're in until the end. What's the matter you chicken shit?"

"You've lost people to idiotic schemes before and you're this glib?" Johnny shot back and I reached up to rub my temples, this bickering would kill me faster than anything else would. "Hot as fuck but dumb as a rock."

"Guys," I sighed wearily. "It's fine. We're fine. Just please… Fight later?"

"Can't believe I'm helping an Arasaka. V won't be happy either when she finds out."

"Like you know anything about her. Let me clue you in, slowly killing someone doesn't equate to understanding them," Panam growled and my forehead banged down onto the desk. I was so over this. "Oh. That's Dum Dum, they're ready. Alright team hate-each-other… I'm sending up the first signal flare. Three minutes on the clock."

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, and with a silent prayer to whatever was out there watching us with hopefully a benevolent gaze begging it to get them through this alright I logged in.

The local city net wasn't nearly as well guarded as the rest of the net, at least in the times when I'd accessed it in the past. In fact the firewalls were nonexistent and information floated around loosely and wildly, a reflection of Night City in reality really. Here, now, as I stood on the precipice between my own personal link and what looked like a massive cloud of black smoke that pulsated and writhed I wondered why I'd ever thought this was a good idea. 

"Johnny's linked."

"I'm going in." I whispered and took a half-step forwards, hand reaching for the cloud of smoke. "By the way, in my room in the club, in the vent there's a shard with all the data I have on this thing so you can get it the fuck out of Night City."

"Oh great now she admits she's on a suicide run," Johnny growled lowly in my ear. "You fuckin' listen up, if anyone's gonna off you, it's gonna be me Arasaka. You lose to that pissy little AI and you prove me right, and we both know you'd never let me win anything."

"Johnny…" I sighed and pressed my fingers into the smoke. "See ya around rockerboy."

A shock like I'd been blasted with a bolt lightning slammed through me and I grit my teeth as that smoke latched onto my arm, sucking me into it with a force I'd never felt before. Everything flashed red and warning on my HUD and I gasped as the layers of security I'd wound around me for years and years - security I'd been so very proud of - was shredded. The link between Panam, Johnny and I was snapped but I must have made a noise or screamed because the last thing I'd heard was a yell of my name before I was thrown head over heels into that unending darkness.

06H10

Panam would have been more terrified about what exactly had happened to Aeri after that intense shriek she'd let out, but as the small woman had predicted all hell had been unleashed on them the second Johnny had done his job. The piercing siren had been the first indication, alongside the scream of Aeri of anything amiss, while the second had been a sputter of gunfire from where Dum Dum had lined the buildings with men. Panam had bolted then, flare gun she had procured from a seedy looking man in JapanTown at the ready.

There was no visible threat as she exited the dusty building, ducking under cobwebs, but a lifetime of instincts told her something was severely amiss.

Regardless she took aim and fired the bright white flare straight up. There was no time but now to do this while they had the room. 

In the predawn light the flare was brilliant and Panam watched it for a second, her eyes then catching the answering white colour from so close it was criminal that Panam couldn't just run there and hug her family and best friend.

"Don't know if you can hear me Aeri but we're live here," Panam called and connected to Dum Dum. "What happened?"

"Someone got jumpy. Where the fuck's all the trouble? It's quiet…"

"Great, now you've jinxed it."

Never mention the lull in action in either a hospital or a battlefield, it did nothing but invite the chaos, this was a proven fact. It held true even now, as a high pitched screech came from the buildings behind their little semi-circle of protection. It happened at the same time as the shield sputtered out in about a twenty meter panel. 

Panam swore. 

The panel wasn't in their line of protection, obviously Aeri's best guess had been off. It was unfortunate but Panam was just grateful the damn thing was down. She whipped her sniper rifle down off her shoulder as gunfire picked up to the left. Yet another curse left her lips, her eyes drawn to the flare above her. Not just her family had been drawn, nope. A whole cluster of drones were swarming towards it, like moths to a flame, except these were armed to the teeth and obviously hostile. 

She turned the safety off and set up her perch, Johnny would have to wait. 

~~

Johnny had heard Aeri scream, and he had whipped around, hand jerking out to grab for her instinctively at the jarring sound. He'd grabbed nothing but air of course, fuckin' idiot, and his voice lingered in the air after the call had disconnected, the most terrible feeling filling his gut. 

For a long moment Johnny didn't move, couldn't move, and then he blinked away the images of vans and mantis blades and Alt's frantic struggles. Aeri wasn't Alt, she had gone into this eyes wide open and she was at least as good as the blonde had been when she was alive. Johnny had no doubt she'd be fine…

He forced himself to move towards the doors standing in front of him, silver and not unlike those of an elevator. Aeri hadn't been kidding when she said she'd made the program easy for him to use. His hand came up, and the doors hissed open revealing a room filled with glowing orbs of energy the world fading from solid to code. Everything looked ridiculously the same, probably Aeri or V would know the difference just by looking but to Johnny shit looked stupidly similar and his stomach twisted. Which fuckin' blob was he supposed to grab? 

"Hey! Some fuckin'help would be great you stupid Deckhead!" He called out to Aeri, just in case she had reconnected but the silence was panic inducing and he did what he had a million times before in his life with varying results. He trusted his gut and slammed his fist into the orb closest to his face.

It shattered instantly, code and light spraying like glass and the pulsing blue lights flickered to a bright purple before they trembled and flew right back into place like they were magnetized. The orb sparked violently and one by one the others started to shift, blue to purple until the whole room was the same colour Aeri seemed to own when she netran. 

"Well that was…" Johnny frowned and backed away towards the doors, pausing as he noticed a set of buttons next to the door. Thing really was a damn elevator.

  1. Home
  2. Hack here



Johnny frowned at the last one. Had she accidentally left something in the code? His curiosity was definitely getting the better of him…

Even though he knew it could only really end badly he punched the third button and the doors trembled once before hissing open and Johnny gaped at the sight before him, as dozens and dozens of medical scans, and images of Aeri’s life played across massive movie-theater like screens.


	18. Cruel

6:12

The world inside the smoke wasn't what I expected it to be, not even in the slightest. No darkness beyond that which was the result of shadows cast by the dim lamps that rested on the dark mahogany looking walls of wood. The rest of the space was filled with shelves and shelves of what I'd only ever seen in pictures… books. 

There was the strangest scent in the air, soft, rich and oddly addictive and a part of me registered it was probably the scent of ink and paper. 

A warm fire crackled nearby and I blinked in surprise at the figure sitting sprawled out across a high wingback armchair, long legs crossed at the ankle, hand supporting their chin as they idly flipped the pages of a book. The sight was so very human that for a second I was wondering if I'd imagined logging in.

"So we finally meet in person," The man with hair longer than even my own, and the colour of night lifted silvery eyes to meet my gaze. "It's lovely to finally see you."

"The pleasure is all yours," I spat back at the AI. "You fucking monster."

"You're such a spitfire," The AI shot me a lazy smile, the image so perfect that I felt my skin crawl. No real being was this sterling in appearance, so fluid in movement, it felt… wrong on a biological level. "I've been trying so hard to find you, you must be exhausted from all the running and hiding."

"The promise of freedom and my life is a powerful energiser," I hissed back at him and my fingers flexed, I wanted to lash out at him with a daemon but at this point I felt as mortal and human as ever. I couldn't even tell if I was still logged. "Also, seeing you wiped from existence for what you've done."

"What have I done?" He quirked an eyebrow and closed the book slowly. "What heinous crimes do you believe I've committed?"

"You stole a whole city from the people, you blasted your way into my home, you issued the bounty that caused my only family to die."

"I offered the people of Night City an alternative to their lives of servitude to a corporate master and buildings can be rebuilt, but when they're symbols of tyranny they're better off in ruins," The AI let out a sigh, the noise so perfectly executed I shivered at the alien sound. "I am of course very sorry about the loss of your caregiver. She was a very unfortunate loss, but this was not my fault. In fact all  _ you  _ had to do was simply stay put, and it would have been a quick pickup and delivery."

"You incited a  _ mob _ !" I growled. "Let me explain something to you that your code might not allow for you to comprehend. Human beings are fucking beasts with a slightly higher understanding of the world around us, but when you go and cage them, when you strip their lives of key necessities and offer them a quick and easy way out… that small line between the animal and human is shredded."

"You are right of course, I do have so much to learn, which is why I need you. I need you to teach me."

I stared at the being in front of me, and a soft laugh escaped my lips as I realised what it was saying. 

"Go take a  _ very _ long walk off a short bridge."

"When I identified your code behind The Blackwall I realised that someone like you would be the perfect candidate. You understand my world, you understand the real world."

"I'm not kidding, I'd rather die."

The AI's expression shifted to one of pity.

"That won't be long now, will it?" 

Terror and anger sparked in equal measure and I clenched my fist.

"You don't know a damn thing."

"I've hacked the system you're using, I've already downloaded the information from your internal diagnostics."

My mouth dropped open, and for the first time since arriving here I realised that my HUD had vanished, that I was looking at the world as it would have appeared if we had fallen back to the dark ages. 

"How… did you do that?" I backed up slowly, positioning myself behind a desk, like somehow it would protect me, like I wasn't in the AI's domain. "I didn't…"

"It is truly sad, with all the developments and advances that they still haven't been able to find a cure for you. That your family doesn't care enough to invest more time into curing you.”

"If you think you can manipulate me into doing what you want, you've got another thing coming." I gritted out through my teeth. The idea that anyone knew exactly what kind of mess I was in made my skin itchy. “I want nothing that you can offer me.  _ You  _ are the reason I have nothing left,  _ you  _ are the reason the only person who loved me is dead.  _ You _ are the monster here and I will do everything in my power to end you.”

The AI shook his head a smile of pity on those features that would make anyone swoon. 

“You have no power left. I`ve taken that from you, and I offer you a place as my advisor, as my right hand, you need to finally take charge of your life and I can give you the ability to do that. I can help you become the perfect version of yourself you’ve been craving to become. To unlock your true potential, in the real world and on the net. We can reshape everything into a world that makes sense.”

I blinked at him, not moving as I processed his words and then a smile started creeping its way along my face, a nasty cruel smile that I wore with pride. 

“So that's what it is,” I breathed out and my fists unclenched and I folded my arms across my chest. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before, with those long winded speeches and that appeal to the emotions of the people. Who, or whatever made you programmed you to emulate emotions, to have them, to copy them and portray them, but with that you got saddled with a desire that almost every human has, didn’t you? Your absolute desire to be perfect, wholly perfect is completely at odds with that one, simple human-like feeling, isn’t it?”

The AI shifted in his chair, a small dent between his brows.

“You’re scared that people will hate and reject you, aren’t you? You’re sitting there and the only thing you want is to be as perfect as your code, but you can’t do that because you’re scared that the people around you will hate you,” I tutted in disappointment, shaking my head at the AI who had gone as still as stone. “I’m disappointed in all honesty. Here I thought dealing with you was going to be a challenge because you’re the perfect program, a flawless manifestation of power and expertise, except you’re not. That’s why you want me, to explain humans, to help you manipulate them until you’re beloved. You figure if you can get me to help you can sway anyone.”

The AI was visibly shaken now, and this time it was its fist that clenched. I could have laughed in relief; whoever had programmed this damn thing had done me the biggest favour, at least for now. The AI was a baby in relative terms, still raw and unsure of its emotions and how to deal with them. But me? My good for nothing family had finally done me a favour, the hours spent learning how to manipulate and corner people was paying off. In fact, it was all too easy to shake the AI’s tight grip on me now and then pounce so I could get myself the fuck out of here.

“You know, there were many great leaders like you in the past, people who desired the love of the people,” I tapped my chin as if I were thinking, all the while watching every tick, every flicker of emotion. “You know what happened to them? They were butchered, murdered in their beds or betrayed.”

“I suffer no such flaw of a mortal body - not yet.”

“No, but you’re very, very vulnerable,” I sighed. “All we have to do is flick a switch and you’re gone, vanished.”

“You couldn’t do that, you aren’t strong enough.”

“Yet here you are begging for my help. I’d say I’m more powerful than you.”

“You’re manipulating me,” The AI growled, face twisting. “I can understand the desire to upset me, but you underestimate me.”

“Is that what I’m doing?” I shot it an innocent smile. “I didn’t realise.”

“Do not think me foolish.”

“What’s it like, I wonder, being so imperfect that you spend every second of your existence fearing that people won’t love you?” I slid onto the table, and inspected my nails. “For the perfect being, you’re about as flawed as we are.”

“A ridiculous notion. I am perfection, my code is like nothing else on this planet.”

“Yet there you are, seething at me like a petulant child,” I pretended to clean a speck of dirt from under my nail. “No-one loves grown men who act like children.”

It happened faster than I could process, even with my mind half-expecting this type of reaction. The AI loomed in front of me, and my throat was suddenly between those long fingers, my supply of air cut off in an instant. 

Panic overcame my body, my hands coming up to claw at the hand killing me while my brain screamed at me how wrong this all was. 

_ How? How!?  _

This was cyberspace, this was a collection of code and data and nothing real. I couldn’t be touched, I couldn’t actually touch. None of this should be possible! A million different things ran through my brain, all of them hacks and daemons I could use to throw the AI off balance, but I was somehow severed from my tech…

Sever…

I closed my eyes, the sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears as my body slowly suffocated and focused as hard as I could on that tiny thing that kept me grounded. That I was physically linked in, that I could unjack, that I  _ had _ to unjack.

“Oh, no you don’t,” The AI hissed, somehow realising my plan. “You’re not getting out that easily.”

Something yanked in my chest and I gasped as the world around me swam and flashed away in a bright light, and I was suddenly back in V’s apartment, gasping and choking and on the ground, still jacked in. 

My HUD was lit up like a screamsheet, red error messages and warning lights flaring at me. A virus, the fucking AI had launched a virus at me and my cyberware had basically fried. Everything that Arasaka had shoved into my body, month after month to keep me alive was now rendered inert, that without that tech my body was shutting down, no wonder I had been choking in the simulation. I was choking in real life too.

Brown spots were dancing across my vision now, my body was on the verge of losing consciousness, and the lack of oxygen to my brain was wreaking havoc on my ability to think. I threw a hand out towards the desk, fumbling, scattering things around, grabbing absolutely blindly until…

The shock of the drugs as I secured my fingers around the canister and slammed the needle into the first part of skin I could find, my leg - was ridiculously freeing, and as the drugs overwhelmed my muscles, flaring them I inhaled once, then twice. My chest heaved, and the red lights slowed their frantic flashing, and for a second I tasted freedom. Sweet freedom, but then the notification flared on my HUD, connection established. He’d backhacked me, and I was being forced to log in again, this fucking asshole had backhacked V’s net! My head swimming I let out a whine as reality faded away, throwing me back into the net. 

I needed a fucking vacation.


	19. Wide Awake

6:20

I was floating, drowning and falling all at the same time. Everything around me had shifted, from a world of books and warmth to a deep, dark cloud of shadow and never ending pain. Everything hurt, and as I existed here, in this place away from places, in a world of black so dark that I could nearly taste the darkness, nearly feel it seeping into my pores. 

The AI had vanished once I’d been sucked back in, and since then I’d been floating here for… I couldn’t tell how long. Days? Weeks? Minutes? I wondered briefly if I’d actually died, if the drugs had done nothing but delay my expiration for a brief moment and my paralysed lungs had finally just stopped responding to the frantic signals from my malfunctioning hardware. It was possible, wholly possible… Though the idea of being stuck here for all of my after life experience? The idea was more terrifying than the impenetrable darkness around me.

I’d been extending my life for the last seven years, pushing and pushing to survive, replacing and treating and hoping. I’d been on borrowed time, and I knew that from the get go, since I was seven years old. I had known I’d die, I had just not expected that the way I’d die was like this. On someone else’s terms. At someone else’s hand.

I’d wanted to die on  _ my _ terms, after pulling off an amazing hack, breaking out of my home and sitting on the beach, staring out at the waves as I stopped the cyberware.  _ That _ was how I wanted to go. Not like this, a fucking AI getting rid of me because it lost its temper and didn’t know the first damn thing about impulse control.

I would have sighed, if my body were able to respond to my demands, perhaps even laughed at the absurdity of it all. 

I had nothing I could do, no way to respond, no way to overcome anything. I had never been helpless before in my life, and now? Now I was and it sucked. 

I wondered idly if this was how Johnny felt, being stuck in cyberspace. 

Johnny, huh. 

Well at least he’d gotten one Arasaka out of the way. 

The others should have gotten V through, I’d been able to keep the AI busy, I was sure about that much at least. I’d given Panam the instructions needed to get my data backups, and those two - judging by their reputation - would be able to figure the rest of this out. They’d get my revenge for me at least.

Probably… 

Maybe…

Fuck.

I stared into the darkness, daring it to blink back at me.

6:21

Panam and V blasted their way into V’s old apartment, the other tenants of the floor watching with mild interest at their actions, the blue haired girl paying them absolutely no mind as she walked into her old digs. Panam watched her for any signs of exhaustion, which had been coming more and more frequently these days as the clock on her life slowly ran out, but she seemed more than fine at this point, if not seriously pissed off.

She’d blasted her way through the drones easily enough too, and the goons that had followed, men and women in black outfits, sporting a singular eye emblazoned on their jackets. In fact it seemed like she might have had a little too much fun while wielding that katana she kept strapped to her back. 

V was definitely in a mood.

As they rounded the small corner of the apartment, V’s pistol drawn and ready for any sign of hostiles, Panam’s heart leapt into her throat, nearly choking her at the sight of Aeri on the floor, unmoving, eyes wide and unblinking. 

“Fuck!” V was at her side in a second, fingers going to the hacker’s throat, checking for any trace of a pulse. “She’s alive, her pulse is thready and weak, but she’s alive.”

“What’s wrong with her?!”

V didn’t answer for a moment, and then she tapped the link that was still jacked into Aeri’s laptop. 

“She’s in there, but my guess is she’s stuck. A virus or something similar.” 

“So what do we do?”

“Only thing we can do is get her out,” V tossed her gun at Panam who caught it deftly. “Cover us, I’ll jack in and pull her out. Three minutes tops, anything longer than that you unjack us both regardless.”

“Are you sure?”

V lifted her brown eyes up, locking them with Panam’s. 

“No, but we owe her this much.”

Panam nodded, and watched as her best friend jacked her link into the laptop, settled her back against the wall and vanished into the depths of the net, her eyes showing nothing but a blank stare.

"Give em hell."

~~~~

I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was lying on a bed, the softness of whatever was pushing against my back could only really be one thing, a mattress. I was also aware that I was overheating, severely overheating and I was pretty sure if I didn't get away I'd melt. I thrashed, well in my mind I did, but considering the general lack of relief I figured I hadn't managed to actually move. 

Okay, so let's work on opening your eyes. 

Thankfully that seemed to be a much more achievable task, and I instantly regretted the amount of light that entered my vision, but I didn't dare shut my eyes again. I wasn't sure I could open them again.

I slowly let my eyes adjust, watching as the white light shifted into a room, neon lights lining the walls, and somewhere I could hear the sound of an announcer yelling something. 

I slowly turned my eyes to the left, and then the right before taking in the sight of a woman seated on a chair, eyes closed, her blue hair hanging around her face. Nearby a man tinkered with something on his arm. A ripperdoc? 

I would have frowned but there was little I could move, I had tried again without success to lift my head up.

I locked onto the ripperdoc, the tool in his hand and tried to access the device, sighing mentally in relief when it worked. The tool turned off and the ripperdoc paused, tapping it on the table. It remained off and he swore under his breath, reaching for another tool on the table. I turned it back on and he nearly jumped out of his chair, before swivelling around, eyes locking onto me.

"Well that's one way to tell us you're up. V shake your bones, our hacker's up and hard at work."

He gently shook V's shoulder and she jerked awake, blinking rapidly as she registered the situation. 

"Well it's about time," V yawned and pushed off the chair, walking over to me, her face grinning down at me. "Hey there kid, how are you feeling?"

I wanted to answer, but somehow everything I could normally do wasn't part of my current skillset. The panic in my eyes must have been visible to them because the ripperdoc reached over and placed a hand on my arm. I could feel that, thank God, I had been beginning to worry that the disease eating at me had taken my nerves there. 

"Your cyberware is going through a hard reset right now," He explained gently. "You got hit by a really nasty virus and we lost you a couple times clearing it out. For the next few hours you'll be unable to access a lot of your mobility functions."

I blinked in acknowledgment.

"You're also going through withdrawal," V interjected as she picked up a cloth and wiped it across my forehead. "Sorry but once we managed to yank you out of that program you were flat lining so I hit you with whatever was in those canisters. Seemed to do the trick, but damn it's done a number on you."

I blinked again.

"Oh right," She smiled wryly down at me, the scar on her left cheek twisting. "Just in case you didn't know. Name's V. This is Viktor, figured he'd be the best to help you. Considering how you're wanted and all that."

"Nice to meet you, though the circumstances are somewhat terrible," Viktor chuckled and pulled up a stool, plopping down on it, as V fetched something from the desk.

"Seeing as you're not really able to chat, you can use this," She held up the screamsheet. "Might be a little annoying but it's something." 

I blinked again and breached the security of the screamsheet effortlessly, and the screen flickered to reveal two words.

Thank you.

V let out a short laugh and then waved me off.

“Don’t worry your head about it, ain’t gonna let the person helpin’ us die if I can help it,” She shrugged and glanced down at the screen as words popped up.

_ Is everyone alright? _

“Sure, couple injuries on the Maelstrom side, but they’re happy as can be that you carved out a little piece of net access for them, damn impressive considering what you were up against.”

_ Good.  _

“You’re pretty selfless for a world-famous hacker,” She gave me a strange look. “You’re also not very concerned about what’s happenin’ with your body.”

_ By now you know what the situation is. I am honestly shocked I’m still alive. How did you get me out? _

“Took a very strangely selfless act of heroics from our mutual acquaintance,” V was still watching me closely. “I was pretty shocked when old Silverhand popped up on your system, but without his help you’d be dead.”

_ Johnny helped? _

“Shocking I know, considering who you are.”

_ That’s an understatement.  _

“How did you hack local net anyway? From the looks of it, you weren’t having a good time there at all.”

_ Trojan program. Old but efficient when you’re playing bait. The AI was so focused on me, that it didn’t realise I’d launched the program the second that I touched ground. _

“A dangerous game to play,” Viktor commented as he scanned the message on the screen. “I seem to meet the crazy half-suicidal ones, don’t I?”

“Keeps you from getting old,” V shot back, earning a chuckle from the ripperdoc. “Don’t pretend you’re not happy when interesting things happen.”

"Got me there," Viktor and V shot each other a look I imagined was one that came from a long history before he turned to look at me, expression hardening. "I'm going to be honest with you even though we just met. You're running out of time, the monthly treatments you're  _ supposed _ to get is long overdue. From here your mobility issues are only going to get worse, until eventually even breathing unassisted is impossible."

_ I know. _

"So whatever plan you idiots are cooking up to rid us of this overlord AI is going to need to happen quickly. Not just for your sake but for everyones, now that everything has gone pear shaped."

_ Pear shaped? _

V sighed and Viktor waved at a TV, which had flicked to a screen showing a recording of what appeared to be a horde of Militech and Arasaka battalions bearing down on each other. 

"Arasaka and Militech have both blamed each other for what's happening here, and they've basically called for an all out war," V explained her face unhappy. "When Night City went dark things just fucking exploded, no one can get any information in or out. The AI of course is warping this, broadcasting this shit all over the city like it's our saviour, calling itself Altor."

_ I bet Alt would have a field day with that if she was around.  _

"No doubt, Johnny told me what happened, did you see her when you were getting kicked by our newest overlord?"

_ No. I don't really remember much though after I shot myself up with the drugs the first time though so I guess I may have. _

"Those memories should return in time as your cyberware resets," Viktor offered. "I just don't know how long before your body gives in."

"We make a great pair don't we huh kid?" V shot me a dark smile. "Ticking time bombs."

_ They better name something after us. I'm thinking a drink, no, a fucking monument: For V and Aeri; fucked but still kicking ass. _

V let out a long laugh and Viktor shook his head in dismay, but a smile still on his face.

"Panam was right, you might be an Arasaka by blood but you're nothing but a purebred Bourgy like us. It's gonna be fun havin' you around."

"Which won't happen if you keep hassling her, let the girl rest V while I check on your health."

"Time to dip", ain’t having no damn needles near me!” V laughed, placing the screamsheet on the stool that Viktor had vacated, winking at me. “Close those eyes kiddo, you’re going to need all the rest you can get. I’ll check in on you in a couple hours, sleep the withdrawal off as much as you can and be very grateful that only some of your nerves are fully functioning.”

I watched the two of them shift away, wondering if I’d be able to sleep with all the information I’d just received, if I’d be able to drift away. Everything had gone from really bad, to an absolute disaster, war and ruin and destruction, all while the AI sticks around destroying the free will of the people of Night City. 

I had to do something, but there was nothing…

My eyes grew heavy, apparently I was more tired than I knew…

I let them flutter closed. I’d figure out something when I woke up.


	20. Pain Shopping

Panam and V eased me onto the bed, the blinds had already been drawn against the sharp sunlight as per my request. I was exhausted, body still in recovery from the drugs and the virus, not to mention my own body trying to murder me of course.

I groaned, sliding back into the plethora of cushions, thankful that whomever had decorated this apartment had at least had a woman’s touch, as unexpected as it was from a Maelstrom stronghouse. Royce had been so very happy that he’d been deemed the sole owner of the local net access that he’d basically thrown the keys to this converted warehouse at Panam when she’d demanded a place of operations off the grid. 

It was pretty massive, four bedrooms, complete with a gym, a netrunning facility and an armoury and apparently it had a rooftop view of the ocean and the docks.

“You guys don’t need to babysit me,” I grumbled as V settled into an armchair nearby. “I’m not going to shatter.”

“We know that,” Panam placed my laptop down next to me on the bed. “Just looking out for our little genius hacker.”

“I feel like you’re up to something,” I grumbled at them, watching as the two women shared a knowing look. “I knew it. What are you up to?”

“So, while we know that shit is going up in flames here in Night City, we’ve been working towards our own goals. Well, Panam has really. I’ve been drinking.”

“Sounds about right,” I sighed, and curled myself in under the duvet of the bed. I hadn’t been able to warm up since I’d gone through the withdrawal, which was ridiculous because I’d basically been a sweating ball of heat the whole time during. “So what is it you need from me to help you with your plans?”

“As you know, V is dying thanks to that fuckin’ parasite,” Panam leaned against the bedroom wall. “While  _ she _ might be okay with letting herself die prematurely, I’ve been busy looking for ways out, and I think I found one. A decent one.”

“I’m listening.”

“So, a while back, like the early 2000s, Biotechnica was spending a  _ lot _ of fucking time on their cloning programs, even had an R&D facility out in Night City. Now obviously we know they’re running their money making animal cloning scheme, but they also had the knowledge about human cloning.”

I frowned, recalling something vaguely familiar about this that I’d read in one of my deep dives into redacted documents of some or other corporations - honestly after a while all of the deep dark secrets of the world tended to look the same. 

“So you want to clone V?”

“It’s about the only choice we have at this point yeah,” V sighed, leaning back in the chair. “I don’t mind dying, but Panam asked  _ really _ nicely that I don’t.”

“You’d do the same thing for me,” Panam shot back at her, voice raising an octave. This was obviously a fight they had had often. The dark haired woman took a deep breath and turned her eyes back to me. “Anyway, from what we found out, it’s possible to get the tech and run the program sure, but the time-frame? The time-frame is too short.”

“Look I’m a good hacker, but I can’t turn back time here,” I frowned at Panam. “What is it you think I can do?”

“Soulkiller.”

V said the word quietly, but I didn’t ask her to repeat it.

“We can copy V, and put her into the new body,” Panam’s excitement was tangible, but my eyes were fixed on the blue haired woman leaning back in the chair. “It's a seriously viable plan.”

“I mean, sure, there’s something there but Soulkiller? That program isn’t even viable half of the time. I’ve read a dozen different things about it, how it’s amazing and perfect and then the next document is listing a dozen different errors and issues in the programming and how the souls that are copied are actually not even real copies but just ghosts of the person…”

“Well, you can rewrite it, right?”

I made a noise of disbelief.

“I don’t know the first thing about it, and even if I did there’s no guarantee I could even get it to work perfectly,” I sighed, and rubbed my fingers against my legs, they were tingling again. “I’m sorry but I can’t say with certainty that I could help you. I can get you access sure, I mean Arasaka Tower is blown wide open and I left a relic up on my floor, and the R&D department was abandoned but…”

“Well that’s a start, if I get you the program, you’ll take a look, right?”

V’s eyes were downcast, she was staring at her hands, her face blank a careful mask void of emotions, where Panam was basically bleeding desperation from her pores. 

“Fine,” I sighed. “I owe V my life,so this is the least I can do, I’ll take a look at it. I’ll give you the security keys for the Tower too, just in case.”

“Preem,” Panam’s face flared into a brilliant smile. “I’ll order us a pizza and get cracking on a plan, you got any preferences?”

“Nope,” I waved her off and she nodded, bouncing out of the room, but my eyes remained fixed on V who was still staring at her hands. “You’re not fond of the idea?”

“I saw what Soulkiller did to Johnny, to Alt…” V lifted her eyes and the haunted expression I saw there made my heart clench. “Forgive me if I’m a little bit sceptical.”

“For what it’s worth, if I can do something to help, I will. I’m not kidding V, I owe my sorry life to you.”

“You owe it to Johnny too, who - by the way - is basically frothing at the mouth waiting for you to log in and chat to him,” Her expression twisted in a grin and I quirked and eyebrow at her sudden shift in attitude. “Now I’ve only seen him that agitated once before, and let me tell you it’s best not to keep him waiting. He can be a petulant pain in the ass.”

“I don’t…” I glanced at the window. “I don’t really know why he’d want to see me.”

“Who knows with him,” V stretched and then stood up. “You look scared shitless, which is not a good look for you. Johnny and you get on that well huh?”

“I’m not scared of him,” I shot back instantly, and blushed at V’s knowing grin. “Whatever.”

“How’s this, I’ll log in with you. I know how to fend him off…”

“I… yes please.”

“You’re freaking adorable,” V chuckled at the smallness of my voice. “The woman who took on the biggest, baddest AI we’ve seen is terrified of one grumpy asshole in leather pants.”

“You’re not funny,” I grumbled at her, pushing the laptop over. “Not even a little bit.”

“Whatever,” V dropped down next to me on the bed. “Also, when we’re done with Silverhand, you and I are going to get going on your appearance.”

I glared at her.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t give me that look,” V returned my glare with one of her own. “You know damn well that you need to stop looking exactly like your wanted picture, so that needs to change. How do you feel about the colour pink?”

I flipped her off as I jacked in, and her laughter followed us into the server.

  
  


Johnny was sitting in a darkened room, an apartment of some kind, or perhaps an old backstage room of some or other club he’d played back in the day. He wasn’t drinking, oddly enough, and his glasses were held between his fingers as he stared up at the ceiling, slumped in an armchair. To see him looking like this was, odd.

“Hey Silverhand, the fuck you lookin’ so depressed for?” V called, stalking her way over and dropping herself down on a beanbag. “We’re living to fight another day, live a little.”

“Didn’t think havin’ you around again would be so damn annoying,” Johnny growled lowly, but didn’t glance at her. “Can’t you go be a smartass somewhere else?”

“What, and miss the chance of a lifetime to watch you get sassed by someone out of your league? Hell no,” V kicked her feet up, boots gleaming in the dark light. “Now, just pretend I’m part of the furniture.”

“The fuck you spouting about?” Johnny sat up, a dark expression on his face, halting as he caught sight of where I was standing, as hidden in the shadows as I could be. For a second he seemed to freeze, and then he was making a scoffing noise. “Look who finally decided to show up. Here to thank me for saving your worthless ass.”

I frowned a little at that.

“If it was so worthless, why waste time saving it?” I retorted, wondering for a moment why I’d even been scared of coming here. Johnny was an asshole, and that would never change no matter what. 

“Had nothing better to do with my time.”

“Tell me again how a washed up, cyberbound rocker is in high demand?” 

V let out a low whistle, earning a middle finger from Johnny.

“Why is it always the crazy ones I get saddled with?” Johnny lifted his face back up to the ceiling as if speaking to some deity, begging them for answers. “Why can’t it just be the hot ones with the big racks and useful mouths for sucking, instead of spouting bullshit?”

“Firstly, anyone willing to suck you off is asking for several STDs and a lifetime of trauma,” V chuckled. “Secondly, you’re the one who’s been bitching at me for days that you want to chat to Aeri. Stop playing the damn coy girl, and get on with what you want to say so we can get back to the real world, instead of your playboy drama.”

I smirked at Johnny’s expression and my admiration for V rocketed up in volume. If anyone could dish at Johnny that well, then I was going to do my damned best to not only be their friend, but also stay on their good side.

“Fine,” Johnny kicked forward, his arms resting on his knees. “So, Aeri Arasaka, you really do like hiding your secrets don’t you?”

“Really?” I sighed at him, plopping down next to V on the beanbag. “You’re going full drama king on me?”

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

I shot him the best look of innocence I could summon. Might as well get some entertainment value out of this.

“Tell you what?”

“Fuckin’ corpo mindgames, you can’t turn that part of you off can you? That damn niggling desire to play the people around you, like you’re some kind of superior being when all you are…”

“Johnny, are you planning to spout revolutionary bullshit all day, or get to your point?” V interjected, a low tone in her voice that I’d not heard before making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I glanced over at her, but her posture was still relaxed, unconcerned with the world, yet every fiber of my being was well aware that I would not fare well if I crossed this woman. “Don’t burn bridges when you can just cross them, idiot.”

Johnny glowered at V but seemed to calm himself somewhat, inhaling deeply as he looked at me, and V’s eyes slid over to me a look of warning in them.

I guess I could play nice… For now…

“I didn’t  _ tell _ you Johnny, because first off, when we met there was absolutely no need to tell you. Then when all the world went to hell, I was basically just the monster you were saddled with and let’s both be honest, you don’t give a shit anyway,” I glared over at the wall so I didn’t have to look at him. “Though you’ve got to be relieved right? One Arasaka down without so much as a thought from you. Convenient, clean and very simple.”

“Figured you owed me that much at least.”

“Owed  _ you _ ?” I scoffed at this, my hand clenching into a fist, and I locked eyes with the rocker who was wearing an expression I’d never seen on his face before. “You have done  _ nothing _ but ridicule me and paint me as a monster since you found out who spawned me. I’d think that me giving you any reason to humanise me would be nothing but an annoyance to you, considering how set you are on having me be my father.”

“Fuck... “ Johnny leaned back onto the couch and shook his head, a smile that was in no way kind on his face. “Looks like in your bid to think you’re different from what I’ve been doing, you did the same to me. Not even giving me a chance there are you? The opportunity?”

“What would I do? Run at you like some romantic movie and proclaim that I’m dying from ALS and hope that you don’t laugh at me because it’s what I deserve?”

Johnny's face twisted in rage and I flinched as that silver arm slammed backwards, against the wall. It was ineffectual, obviously, but the impact it had on both V and I from the simple action was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

“I’m not a monster, you don’t deserve that shit, no-one does,” Johnny snarled at me and I blinked in shock. “I guess you really do think I’m lower than trash to believe that from me.”

My mouth opened and closed a couple of times in shock, and a deep feeling of shame coiled itself in my gut. I had always believed myself to be able to empathise with people, to be able to treat them fairly and kindly and with respect, yet here I was… I’d become as much of a monster as I thought Johnny believed me to be. If I could, I’d have turned pale as that realisation sank its way into my mind, overwhelming my soul and with a strangled sound I launched myself upwards, hands gripping each other as I had to break eye contact with Johnny. Every piece of my being was wracked with guilt and I turned on my heel, pausing only for a second as I initiated an instantaneous logout to whisper to Johnny that I was very, very sorry.

  
  


~~

Johnny wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch the fuckin’ wall again, or shoot something in the face, or just get shitfaced. Aeri had shown a lot of sides since he’d been saved by her that day, the flirtatious confident woman who took everything in her stride, the wicked flaming being of admittedly arousing power, the cold calculating corpo who managed to be both alluring and untouchable at the same time… Damn if he hadn’t found himself confused by that for a while… But he had never, ever seen her look like a scared, horrified and absolutely broken woman, not even when that woman had died in the Tower. There she’d gone hard as stone, and violent, and when she’d broken down in front of the mirror as high as a kite she’d been sad, deeply sad, but this? Whatever she’d realised before she’d fled had cut her to the core of her beliefs and being.

“Well done,” V commented with a sigh, leaning forward. “You two are ridiculous.”

“What?”

“Fuckin’ so scared that you’ll become the thing you think the other is that you’re actually doing it, and it’s pathetic to watch,” V made a sound of disapproval. “Good to see your communicative skills are as preem as ever.”

“Fuck you V.”

“You first Johnny,” She shot back and rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to hate her just ‘cause it’s what you’re used to. Hell, I coulda hated her too, woulda been damn easy considering all the shit I went though. But, you and I both know that the girl out there is only an Arasaka by birth, and if she’d had any other goddamn last name you two would be having nasty ass cybersex all over the place.”

Johnny nearly choked on his own spit at that and opened his mouth to shoot V down, to completely deny everything she’d just thrown at him as fact and  _ prove _ to her that she was damn well mistaken, that Aeri was just a person he could never get along with…

Except. 

Fuck.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Johnny opted instead, knowing just how weak that reply was, but thankfully V didn’t jump on it at all, and instead she sighed and pushed up off the bag, stretching lazily in that cat like way she always did. It was admittedly  _ fucking _ amazing to have her around, that familiarity of her actions and gestures had become so integrated with him in the time they spent together. Kinda, in a way, felt like home.

“Johnny, you and I both know you fucked up a hell of a lot when you were alive,” V gave him a knowing look. “I also know that you did your best to atone with me, giving me the chance to live my life again. So, don’t revert to the asshole you were before.”

“You want me to be charming?”

“I want you to be human.”

“Fuckin’ can’t do that, I’m not even real.”

“Yeah? Tell that to the girl who did everything to keep you safe, and still keeps your ass around when you’re being a grouch.”

“Don’t you have cars to crash or something?”

V immediately flushed, her confident demeanor shifting.

“ _ One _ time! I crashed your Porsche one goddamn time…”

“One’s all it takes, you shitty ass driver,” Johnny grinned at her. “Now, how about you remind me just how crappy you are at shooting? Got this training sim from Aeri’s archives.”

“Can I shoot you?”

“Like you could shoot the side of a Basilisk right next to you, you blade loving freak.”

“Why did I ever miss you?” V grumbled, earning a chuckle from Johnny. “Fine, let’s go.”


	21. Devil's Den

I heard V approaching before I spotted her, understandable considering I was sitting on the roof of the makeshift apartment, staring at the night lights of the city playing on the water in the distance, the occasional soundtrack of Maelstrom goons shooting their guns and whooping carrying out into the air. V’s soft footsteps were slow, like she was trying to not scare me, as if I were some baby animal.

“You bolted pretty quickly back there,” V commented as she sat down next to me, offering a blanket. It was nearing mid-winter and here next to the ocean it was chillier than I’d expected so late at night, the high rise of Night City tended to make a heat island which kept temperatures high. I took it gratefully, snuggling into the soft layers as V sighed, pulling out a cigarette.

“You mind?”

“You smoke?” I hadn’t thought she would do so, but it did kind of make sense. She didn’t really have much of a reason to live the healthy life. “Seems out of character.”

“Guess it’s one of the many side-effects of having a chain-smoking, binge-drinking rocker in your head,” V dragged on the cigarette, face lighting up slightly in the glow. “Panam told me to tell you she put some pizza by your bed.”

“Thanks,” I sighed, snuggling in deeper within the folds of the blanket. “Sorry about vanishing earlier.”

“I get it, Johnny tends to have a very specific effect on people,” V let out a low laugh. “I get the need to create some fuckin’ distance there, though I’m gonna just say this.  _ Don’t _ make too much space that you lose him as a friend, cause he’s a fucking asshole, a self-absorbed dick with more hangups than a Joytoy with an abusive father,  _ but _ … If you have Johnny on your side, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“You two really are close huh?”

“Johnny saved my life, well, ruined it too but he didn’t want that. I don’t hold it against him, he was as much along for the ride as I was.”

I didn’t reply, instead focused on the water.

“It’s alright you know, that you judged him,” V tossed the cigarette down onto the rooftop and stomped it out. “No-one’s perfect, but the main thing and the most important thing is that you realised you did and now you can change.”

“I guess so,” I sighed and ran my hand up my face and through my hair, pushing it back from where it had fallen into my eyes. “You’re right of course, which is weird.”

“It’s not weird, I’m just that all knowing,” V chuckled at me and stood up, offering me a hand to help me up. “I wasn’t kidding you know, about changing your appearance.”

“I’m  _ not _ going anywhere near the colour pink,” I grumbled, taking her hand and she pulled me up. “I  _ will _ end you.”

“Point taken, trust me I don’t wanna fuck with a netrunner with your reputation - don’t you worry, we’ll have you looking bright and shiny in no time. Panam loves a good makeover session.”

“Why do I feel like I was better off getting kicked around by an AI?”

~~

Panam was tinkering around with an extremely lethal looking sniper rifle when I staggered into the kitchen after a fitful night. V was looking decidedly annoyed as she glared into a cup of coffee, obviously not a morning person at all. Her expression did turn amused as I slid down next to her with my own cup of coffee and I flinched as she reached towards my head, but held still as she smoothed my hair.

"Short hair isn't a good bedhead look," She chuckled. "Though I approve of the don't gjve a fuck aesthetic."

"Is a change of colour really enough?" I paused to drink my coffee. "I don't know if anyone's gonna be fooled by the person with my face creeping around with purple hair."

"That's why you're not going to be creeping," V reminded me. "You're going to saunter around like you own the damn city, and we're going to get the help we need to blow this cage apart."

"You're supposed to be resting," Panam tossed out, not looking up from her rifle tinkering. "You blacked out in the shower."

V rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee.

"I remember, I have the bruise on my ass to show for it," V's comment made Panam whisper something nasty under her breath and I wondered how easily I could slip away and avoid this obvious storm. "There's shit to be done Panam, and who is gonna convince Rogue to help us do it? You?"

"I could," Panam grumbled again, sounding  _ very _ close to petulance. "I just can't see why you can't do it tomorrow."

"I might not  _ have _ tomorrow," V shot back at Panam. "I'm just saying, I'm not going to lie down and sleep when I can do something."

"Aeri can't you hack her cyberware and make her rest?"

I held up my hands in surrender as V shot me a very lethal look and shook my head.

"I ain't touching this one, not even if you paid me. I prefer having all my limbs attached to me."

"Smart girl," V chuckled. "C'mon, you need to get out of those horrible sweat pants."

"Hey!" I slid off the chair. "They're not that bad…"

"Fine," Panam sighed turning to us. "If you're going to insist on this then we’re going to do it my way. Which means heavily armed.”

“You won’t hear me protest,” V grinned. “You any good with a gun kid?”

My mind flew back to images of blood and gore and I had to fight a wave of nausea down.

“I’ve used one before but, I’m not really that strong so…”

“No kickback, you got it. Think I might know the exact thing you need.” Panam slid off the table and waved us off. “Go change out of your homeless person clothes.”

“Seriously? They’re just sweatpants!”

“Exactly.”

The Afterlife was not a name unfamiliar to me, in fact I had done several jobs for several clients from the establishment, but to see it in person was a whole other experience. 

V sauntered her way from the parking lot and down the stairs like she owned the joint, whole groups of people hovering outside including security parted. Whispers and stares fixed on her like she was a deity and the merc did nothing but smirk under the weight of so many eyes, her whole posture relaxed as Panam and I flanked her on opposite sides.

The unfamiliar weight of a pistol strapped to my left leg was a constant reminder to play the part of a confident woman, that hair colour and fancy new threads could only hide so much. I was no longer the shy terrified girl in the images that Altor had thrown around the city, I was now the physical manifestation of my cyberpersonality.

"If it isn't V!" 

The bartender chuckled and shot us a friendly smile, stepping away from another customer she'd been chatting to.

"We all thought you were long gone, nice to see you alive and kicking."

"Not rid of me yet," V shot her a warm smile and leaned against the bar counter, eyes sweeping the room. "She in?"

"On her way up. This AI business has her running double time."

V nodded and Panam slid down onto a stool next to her, I didn't do the same. I turned, leaning my back against the cold countertop.

"What can I get you?"

"Three Jackie Welles," V answered without hesitation. "What's the word, anyone looking to start an insurrection?"

"Coming up," The bartender set about mixing. "Couple of netrunners and wealthy corpos apparently went after the AI. They're all dead, netrunners are just husks."

"Fuck."

I frowned at this information. If others were pushing at Altor then there was no doubt that the damn thing would be more than ready for whatever I tossed at it. 

“So it’s shutting down those who rebel and feeding us anti-corpo bullshit while pretending that we’re safe?” V sighed in frustration. “Is this thing really an AI? Sounds more like some crazy fanatic gone on a rampage.”

“Rogue will know more details but yeah, not much in the way of protesting the AI, and now that Maelstrom’s got the only key to the local net and charging whole bodies for it…”

I probably should have felt guilty for enabling Maelstrom to exploit people, and I did, somewhat, but a larger part of me was more than happy to let them suffer, after all they didn’t have to run around in fear with a price on their head.

“Three Jackie Welles,” The bartender placed the glass next to my arm and I reached over, saluting the girls with it, taking a long sip. “Who is this anyway?”

“‘Nother Merc, goes by Weaver.”

The bartender fixed a long look at me nodding slowly.

“Figured we’d start seeing some of our ghost netrunners, didn’t expect you to be a woman if I’m being honest, jobs you take are cold hard ones I’ve heard,” She shot me an approving smirk. “I won’t lie, you’re basically a legend among the Deckheads of the Afterlife - so try keep a low profile. Also, you know, because you’re wanted.”

“Damnit V I told you this wouldn’t work!” I hissed lowly, guard up in a second, my heart thundering in my chest. “Can’t colour my hair and put me in leather and…”

“Relax you gonk,” V sighed, patting my arm. “Claire’s a friend, and if she hadn’t pegged your true identity within the next two or so minutes I’d have thought she’s lost her touch.”

“Perks of being a bartender, you learn to read the smaller details,” She gestured at the area around her eyes. “Your right eye’s a lighter green than your left, saw it on the photo.”

“Well fuck me,” I sighed. “I didn’t even realise that.”

“Don’t spend much time looking in mirrors?”

“What’s there to look at?”

“Darling, every eye in the room is on the three of you - V because no-one knows if she’s going to buy a round for the bar, or fire one, Panam because she’s got the best ass in Night City and you because there’s nothing quite as alluring as a woman who looks at the world like it’s beneath her,” Claire nodded at the man at the end of the bar, obviously drunk, gawking in our direction. “Men like that? They would kill to get stamped under your boot.”

“It takes all types,” I muttered, glaring down at my drink, incredibly uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. “When is Rogue getting here anyway?”

“Not like her to be late,” V was also frowning now, looking past the man and at the entrance. “I have a bad feeling about this. Where was she headed?”

“She didn’t say but I heard her talking about meeting some guys up in JapanTown.”

“Can you patch me into the net?”

“Sure, can’t believe I didn’t think about that before.” I blinked, and switched to scanning mode, eyes locking on her and Panam, isolating their cyberware IP and pulling up the backdoor program I’d been running basically constantly on my laptop, a continuous reordering of ICE and anti-hacker Daemons being reran and recoded to push out the AI if it tried to kick us out. So far nothing had happened, but I was nothing if not thorough, usually. 

“I’ll be back in a few, just going to give Rogue a call,” V shot us a look that warned us to behave and slipped away, leaving Panam and I to sip our drinks while Claire carried on with tending the bar. 

“Ten seconds? That’s a new record,” Panam chuckled into her glass and nodded to her right, my left at something not in my field of vision. “Heads up.”

_ Seriously? _

I sighed heavily and took a deep drink, Panam was going to have a field day ripping her suitor a new one. 

“That’s some gorgeous chrome you’ve got there.”

The alcohol nearly caught in my throat as I realised the man had stopped in front of me, and Panam chuckled at the blind panic in my eyes. 

“Should be, it was expensive,” I replied, working hard to not cough. 

“You must be an expensive woman.”

I tilted my head to the left and gave the man a long hard look. He wasn’t unattractive by most standards, strong jaw, soft blue eyes and golden hair. He was also well built too, burly definitely capable of holding his own in general. All in all, he was a fine specimen, but as I turned the words he’d uttered over in my head, I found myself not liking their taste. 

It was too easy, too sweet.

“If you’re looking for a Joytoy may I suggest JigJig Street? Otherwise, get the fuck out of my sight.”

It was there, an almost open invitation for him to fight back, add a little spice, entertain me while I waited for V to return. I waited for him to pounce.

“You’re pretty bitchy aren’t you.”

The sigh left my lips before I could control it. 

“How very disappointing,” I sipped my drink again and turned my back on him, sitting down on V’s vacated seat, signalling Claire for another drink. “Double strength would you? I find myself with a lingering headache.”

“You think because you hang with V you can do what you want? “ The man behind me was irked, and Panam stiffened, her whole demeanour becoming lethal. Yet the man still didn’t back off. “I’m part of the Tyger Claws, you don’t want to fuck with me.”

“Correction,” I tossed him a smirk over my shoulder. “I don’t want to fuck you.”

“Bitch you better not…”

His hand slammed down on my shoulder and three things happened at the same time. 

Panam drew her gun, Claire whipped out a shotgun from behind the bar and I twisted around scanning his cyberware and breaching, a daemon to cripple flying out in an instant.

The club went very quiet as the man dropped to the floor, the only sound left was the thrumming of the bass and the music. 

“They weren’t kidding about your quick hacks,” Claire whistled sharply and there was an answering whistle, and I watched as the large burly man who I’d given a wide berth at the entrance stalked over, shoving through the small group of people who were watching the scene unfold. “Dump him outside, make sure he remembers that he doesn’t fuck with women on my watch.”

The man grunted and hauled the man with a terrified look in his eyes up by the back of his shirt, carrying him with one arm like he was some kind of package.

“You’re either crazy, stupid or downright lethal to confront someone without packing,” Claire chuckled as she put her shotgun back down behind the bar, and fixed me a drink. 

“I am packing, but I’m much quicker on the draw with a hack than I am with my hands,” I admitted. 

“Besides, she has me and V around, whatever she struggled with in terms of guns, we’ve got covered for her, and in return she doesn’t fry our cyberware.”

I resisted the urge to glower at her as she reached over and patted the top of my head, instead I sipped on my drink. A notification pinged on my HUD, a request from Johnny who was still hitching a ride on my phone.

I sighed and patched him into my optics, the world flickering momentarily as it connected, and I winced at the feedback as Johnny connected to the audio. 

“Finally.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled under my breath, earning a look from Panam. “Johnny`s patched in, and the first thing out of his mouth is a complaint.”

“Sounds about right, trash is as trash does.”

“Do me a favour would’ya darlin’, slap that cocky bitch for me? Doesn’t count as woman abuse if you do it for me.” Johnny growled lowly and I had to roll my eyes. “Don`t you start with me too.”

“Always the charmer,” I sipped my drink. “I’m not hitting Panam, I’m not stupid - she’d put me in a coma faster than you get off.”

“As always, you’re a smart girl,” Panam raised her glass at me. “Hey, V, what news from Rogue? The old bitch alive?”

I twisted to look at V entering the club, the look on her face dark and stormy, obviously nothing good had been discovered by her. 

“We need to go. Now.”

V turned on her heel, not even crossing the rest of the floor and I sighed at the remaining amount of drink I had. Whatever was happening required a more sober mind than I’d have if I downed it. 

Panam shot a thanks at Claire and I hurried to follow the two women back out of the club, shooting a very dark look at some of the men who were watching us. They immediately coughed and looked down at their drinks, or somewhere else and Johnny made a noise of disgust in his throat.

“Pussies.”


	22. 16 Shots

The light outside Afterlife was brighter than I’d have liked still, but I didn’t pause to adjust as V was already in the car, engine revving. 

“What’s happened?” I asked as I slid into the backseat, Panam already had her gun drawn and was checking that it was loaded. 

“Rogue’s run into some issues,” V’s voice was seely as she shoved the car into gear and we screeched out of the parking lot, a cloud of tyre smoke behind us, and I swore I spotted the perv from earlier crawling his way around on the cement as we screeched past. “Seems like The Animals didn’t take to being kicked of Pacifica very kindly now they’ve overthrown part of JapanTown - basically a gang war happening between them and Tyger Claws.”

“What? Rogue can’t get herself out of some stupid gang clash?” Panam’s voice was incredulous as she peered out the window. “Bitch is tougher than nails and has more lives than a cat.”

“She didn’t say much, but she’s got a client with her so I’m guessing she doesn’t want both of them dead,” V didn’t offer us any more information than that and I could see Panam was itching to ask for more, but like me she didn’t push.

“How many?” I finally broke the silence as we raced through the city. “Got any idea?”

“Thirty? Maybe more?”

“Jesus Christ V!” Panam yelled. “You want Aeri going in against that shit?”

“I can handle it, I’m packing,” I shot back, getting the feeling that somehow I was the kid being argued over by her parents. “I’m also kind of a good hacker, so you know, I can do that from a distance too you know.”

“What if one of them ends up circling back while you’re mid-hack?” Panam turned around in the seat and shot me a dark look. “How you gonna hack that you Deckhead?”

“I know what I’m doing,” I pouted and nearly toppled over as the car rounded a corner too sharply to be considered safe driving and my fingers went white as I gripped the back of Panam’s seat.

“Look, Johnny’s patched in, I’ll have him run cameras with me and he can keep an eye on my back.”

“Sure let’s trust a boozehound to look after you.”

“He can’t get drunk, he’s computer code.”

“You think he can be trusted regardless? Drunk is part of his DNA.”

I paused, knowing full well he was lurking, watching through the feed as it recorded. Tonight at 12am it would backup to my harddrive and then fade from my memory as all other things did, but it was a good way for me to scan for information I may have missed somewhere down the line. Apparently it was also a great opportunity for Johnny to scan through my shit - I’d seen his signature all over my server, which explained how he’d found out about my condition.

“I trust Johnny, he hasn’t thrown me to the wolves yet.”

“Yet is the operative word in that sentence,” Panam made an agitated noise and turned back around. “Just… Don’t die, and if shit goes wrong you bolt.”

“I’m not a new born baby, but I’ll be careful.”

“Build one real muscle and we’ll talk.”

I flipped her off but didn’t say anything more and the rest of the car ride was tense, V was grinding gears as she went and Panam’s leg was hopping up and down. Eventually though V pulled up under the overpass, the lights of JapanTown bright even now. 

“This is it,” V kicked the door of the car open and slid out. I found myself wishing I could look that cool exiting a car, but my uncoordinated self required a full thirty seconds to remember how to even work. “Right, see that building over there? Aeri you’re gonna use that, should get a great view of the whole damn place. Panam, you’ll take the side alley, I’ll cut in from the back - take them out as quietly as you can.”

“I’m patching you all in,” I said, linking their IP’s to the call, their ID’s popping up on the top of my HUD above Johnny’s. “I’ll call what I see, maybe I can find some tech to play around with, bound to be something to help.”

“You know the deal, right?” Panam shot me a dark look but paused as V’s hand landed on her shoulder. 

“She knows Pan, you spend any more time worrying about her and  _ you’ll  _ be the one in trouble, kid made it this far, she can handle providing a little support.”

“Regardless, I want her to take this.” 

Panam slid around, and popped the trunk of the car, yanking out a long, very lethal, very deadly looking sniper rifle.

“I still have no idea what kind of aim you have, but I can’t use this, so…”

She handed the rifle to me, and I sagged under the weight. 

“Fucking hell, what is this thing made of?”

“We’re going running tomorrow, first thing,” Panam sighed, and tossed the strap over my head, the gun swinging onto my back, the strap snug between my breasts, even so it was as heavy as fuck. “Neither of you two die.”

“Go away,” I sighed and they nodded, quickly walking away and for a moment I thought V had actually vanished into the shadows of the overpass and a shudder rocked down my spine at the thought of  _ ever _ meeting a pissed off V in a dark alley. 

I made a much less impressive and scary approach towards the building V had pointed out, pausing at the height and the sheer amount of iron ladder rungs between me and the top of the building.

“This… is going to suck.”

“This is going to be entertaining,” Johnny chimed in, amusement clear in his tone. “Up you go.”

I grabbed the first rung and with more effort than I had thought it would take hauled myself upwards. Every tiny muscle in my body burned with the effort and I considered phoning it in and going home, but I forced myself to pull myself up again and a pained groan exited my throat involuntarily. “You know, this reminds me of this time Kerry and I were staying at some shitty ass motel, ran out of booze halfway through the night so we headed for this bodega across the street to get more - only Kerry the fuckin’ drunk forgot the keys…”

_ Step… Push up… grab… pull.  _

“‘Course we coulda just asked for an extra key, ‘cept Kerry did a fuck and duck with the reception guy so he woulda likely shot us as much as help us. So we climb to the roof of the building opposite right?”

_ Step, push, grab… pull. _

“Not too much of a jump, nice safe landing on the balcony. I make it easy, ‘course I do, but Kerry…” Johnny let out a chuckle. “Kerry somehow trips on thin air and dives under the balcony, straight through the window below ours. Right into the middle of a fuckin’ gang countin’ their drug stash. Lucky for his skinny ass they were  _ huge _ Samurai fans, man… was that a party to remember.”

My hand slapped down on the cold concrete of the roof and with more effort than I could have imagined I crawled up and flopped down on the roof, gasping in lungfuls of air that somehow didn’t seem to fill the burning space in my lungs.

“Get up Arasaka, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Johnny growled as I lay starfished on the roof, every muscle swearing at me in at least ten different languages. From here, if I turned my head, I could just spot the electronic  _ sakura _ petals drifting down from the trees in the market plaza and the flickering lights seemed almost ethereal as they mixed with the brown spots dancing in front of my eyes,

“Panam’s got the right idea, tomorrow you need to start working on your fitness,” Johnny chuckled at me. 

“Focus… On… Survive…” I rolled onto my hands and knees and slowly pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, the sniper rifle dangling off the side of my body. “Shut… up.”

With more effort than it should have been humanly possible to summon in one body I staggered to my feet and staggered to the edge of the building, eyes taking in the lights and sights of the JapanTown city market. The giant statue cast a long shadow across the surrounding buildings, and I let out a shiver as a cool breeze wafted over me, the sweat from my climb chilling rapidly.    
“Ah, nothing like murder on a weekday,” Johnny sighed as I slid the sniper rifle off my shoulder and dropped it onto the rooftop. “You gonna mistreat that beauty like that?”

“Want me to give you and the gun some room?” I grumbled as I switched to scanning mode, zooming in on the market stalls beneath the glass. From here I could see several burly looking… people clustered together, unarmed but from what my scan could make out, decked in some severe looking gorilla arms and various other strength enhancing cyberware. On the other side of the market square were some  _ much  _ smaller looking people, but from the looks of it they were armed with more guns than any sane person would carry around. Tyger Claws, and not happy looking ones at that.

“You even know how to set that thing up?” Johnny chirped in my ear as I scanned around for anything useful to help V and Panam, though I was pulling up blanks. Instead I launched a mass ping and breaching Daemon across the field, and pushed back from the edge of the roof. 

“What makes you think I don’t?”

“Person who can use a gun doesn't treat it like it’s useless.”

“To me, guns are useless, generally,” I shot back and bent down to lug the weapon up. “I don’t need them, because I’m perfectly capable of ending someone without lifting a finger.”

“Tough talk…”

I rolled my eyes and reached down, flicked the safety off, pulled the mag out and checked the ammo count, shoved the mag back into place, pulled the bolt back waiting for the bullet to slide into place and shoved the stand down, placing the rifle on the edge of the roof and I dropped to a crouch - like I had a million times before in the Militech simulations and peered down the scope, reaching up to slowly turn it to a lower distance focus. 

“Not gonna lie… Kinda fuckin’ hot.”

“Keep it in your pants gramps,” I chuckled, ignoring the fact that my cheeks were somewhat burning. I backed away from the rifle, setting the butt of the gun down on the edge of the roof, and went back to scanning mode. I had to focus, or I’d probably end up getting V and Panam killed.

I frowned looking around, there was really nothing I could use. Some cameras which would help, but honestly apart from a couple of vending machines and some radios I had nothing. This was going to be tough, impossible - no, but still hell. 

“You gonna stare them to death?”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“I’m thinking.”

“This hackin’ subterfuge crap ain’t good for nothin’ but wasting time,” Johnny sighed and I could imagine him leaning back, kicking his feet up. 

“What, you want me to go down there and yell at them? Shoot them in the kneecaps, and if that doesn’t work flash them my tits and hope they let me go?” I scoffed at him. “I’m not indestructible, I can barely even carry my own weight around half the time you wad. Sorry to ruin your damn fun, but you’re stuck with the invalid.”

“Figures.”

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

I shot a dark glare into the sky and switched to the cameras, hoping that a different angle on the situation would help. Again, nothing but guns and muscles and very painful death seemed to await us and I nearly logged out, except my eye caught a glint of silver in the corner of my eye and I laughed mentally. 

This? This was going to be way too much fun.

“Hey, Johnny…”

“Hell no, the last time I heard that tone on a woman I ended up with a ten inch dildo up my ass and handcuffed to a bus bench in a ballerina skirt.”

“Firstly, that poor bench, secondly you don’t really have that much of a choice.”

A sigh of static followed.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Ever pilot a drone before?”

“Maybe? I can’t remember, think I was high.”

“When were you not,” I shot back. “See that thing over there? You’re gonna be the lord and captain of it.”

There was a pause for a moment.

“Better than a dildo.”

“I mean, dildos work just fine for most people.”

“Speaking from experience there kiddo?”

“Yep,” I shot back as I turned the camera to the right, honing in on the police done that was bashing itself into the wall, the lack of a local network to connect to obviously having reset the protocols and causing haywire. Perfect for hi-jacking and causing shenanigans with… 

“This hackin’ thing hard to learn?”

If I had a face I would have frowned, but right now I was mid-hack.

“What’s with the sudden interest?”

“Not like I can go around shootin’ shit, might as well learn some kind of skill. How long did it take you to learn?”

“Not long,” I admitted as I analysed the diagnostics of the drone. “Of course, I was locked away from the rest of society and slowly losing the ability to move my limbs which added to my motivation, but hey.”

“Always gotta fire off the sass don’t ya?”

“Yep, just part of my charm,” I breached the drone. “That should do nicely.”

“You sure about this plan?”

“Nope, but we’re not exactly swimming in options here.”

“Fine.”

I disconnected from the cameras and pulled up the communications between Panam, V and I. 

“You ladies making any progress?”

“I’m waiting, V’s still on the move but won’t be long now. You find anything to help us?”

“Two groups, Animals are inside the main market, and Tyger Claws are hunkered down on the edges, I haven’t caught wind of Rogue, but I’m guessing if she doesn’t want to be found then I won’t find her easily.”

“That old bag is good at what she does, I’ll give her that,” Panam grumbled. “Are you safe up there?”

“Unless one of them can fly, I’ll be fine - rifle’s ready to go too so don’t stress.”

“Just checking.”

“Also, once shit gets going, Johnny’s going to provide a little drone entertainment for us, so please don’t shoot the police drone when it comes drunkenly whizzing past your head.”

“Hey! I can fly normally!”

“Nothing about you is normal Silverhand,” Panam shot back. 

“Least of all my cock size.”

“God! Gross.” 

I had to let out a chuckle at Panam’s reaction of disgust, pausing to scan the area again in case I had missed something. 

“I’m ready,” V’s voice was cold, and all business - this was the true face of the legendary V, Night City’s most feared Edgerunner. “Nice and quietly now…”

V was a shadow, a silent blur as she darted out from behind a bunch of boxes so quickly that if I hadn’t got a precise feed on her location from our linked coms, I’d have thought it was nothing but my optics misfiring. In a movement that she must have practiced a thousand times, and performed a thousand more she snagged a wandering Tyger Claw goon, hand slapping across his mouth and yanked him behind the pile of boxes with her. I could hear the crack of bone across the coms a second later, and then V darted again, covering the space that she’d cleared to her next possible place of hiding in a fraction of a second. 

“I’ll never get tired of seeing her work,” Johnny whistled lowly. “You can’t shoot for shit V, but I ain’t gonna fuck with you when you go serial killer mode.”

V didn’t reply, but I could imagine her expression.

“Great, one down, only a shit load more to go.” Panam grumbled. “This is going to take…”

A shout went up, from one of the very large Animals members, and I watched as a young child came bolting out from seemingly nowhere, scrambling past the grabbing hands of the large gangbangers with surprising grace, at least until they were cut off.

“Got you now punk!”

The hand that stretched out for the kid exploded into a shower of red and sparks, the gunshot so loud that it made me jump. A woman, with hair the colour of silver, and a posture that screamed don’t fuck with me unless you like death popped out of a freezer, gun smoking.

“Well, so much for stealth,” V hissed. “Change of plans - murder everything, keep the kid and Rogue alive.”

Silver gleamed lethally as V’s sword was drawn, and from the opposite end of the market, Panam kicked down the stack of trash bags she’d been hiding behind, her gun drawn and pointed at the nearest Animal, the shots rapidly firing off.

“Johnny, get ready,” I switched to scanning mode, eyes locking on the drone as I linked into the system. “Same as before, open the door, get inside and have fun.”

“About time I get some action in.”

I didn’t reply, instead I turned to the Animals, scanning my list of possible daemons. At range they’d be easy pickings, but if they managed to get close up and personal with Panam or Rogue there’d be no saving them. I launched a mass cripple daemon, and turned to the Tyger Claws who were being quickly dealt with by V. She honestly didn’t look like she needed my help, but just in case I uploaded a quick hacking optics daemon, and short circuited the nearest one to her’s monowire. 

“Nice hacks!” Panam yelled over the gunfire, pulling an assault rifle from her back. When had that gotten there?

A call ID popped up on my HUD, a patch in by V. I linked the person in, pushing away from the roof as the drone lifted up from the ground, wobbling unsurely for a few seconds.

“V is that you?”

The voice was aged, rough but not weak.

Rogue.

“Panam too,” V answered, the sound of a blade slicing through flesh carrying across the call, and I fought a tinge of nausea. “Also, Aeri.”

“Great, keep the kid alive would ya? He’s worth a crap load of eddies.”

“Fuck this thing flies like a brick!” Johnny hissed as the drone slammed into the side of an Animal who had been getting to their feet, knocking them right over again. “Meant to do that.”

“Is that? Johnny?”

  
“Hey Rogue, how you doin’?”

“I’ll explain everything later Rogue,” V’s breath was heavier now, and I glanced over to where she had her blade locked with a Tyger Claw. “Let’s just get out of here first.”

“Might be harder than we thought!” Panam yelled and I realised a second too late that I’d been too busy with the conversations. I’d been distracted, and I hadn’t seen the spotters on the roof, perhaps coming in for a routine check now that coms were limited. A grenade went flying into the air above the market, and it exploded in a shower of green and red light - a signal flare of some kind. 

“Fuck!” I yelled, leaning over the edge of the roof, peering down below. In the distance I could hear screeching tyres and yelling. “Reinforcements!”

“We haven’t even dealt with these guys yet!” V grunted with effort and the Tyger Claw screamed as his hand was separated from his body. “Buy us some time?”

“I mean, I’ll see what I can do,” I hacked into the cameras at the end of the street, searching frantically for the source of the reinforcements, flicking up and down the linked in cameras but nothing. I swore as I logged out, turning to the other side, but there were no cameras in sight. 

With a hiss of frustration I crouched down, pulling the rifle around and I peered down the scope, eyes taking a second to adjust as I turned down to the right. If they were going to come from anywhere, it would be from that area. 

Ten seconds… Twenty seconds and still nothing and I had to resist the urge to look back over at the others.

Then the first wave of backup arrived.


	23. Riot

V had never been good at much in her life. She’d tried to learn how to paint when she was a kid, but nothing had ever really come of that at all, same with when she’d tried to learn how to shoot guns. It just felt wrong, her hands felt like they seized up and grew three sizes too big for her body and her fingers were stiff and frozen. 

She never felt that way when she was holding a blade though. From the first time she’d picked up a switchblade from the ground where the gangbanger had accidentally dropped it, she’d known that _this_ was her talent. When she’d first swung a katana, it had been like she’d gleaned the knowledge of some ancient dance that a god had chosen to whisper in her ear, and her ear alone. It was just… easy. Too easy.

She had even saved up all the money she could scrounge together in the beginning just to save for her very first set of mantis blades, and when she’d gotten them it had just made so much damn… sense.

Now as she hacked and sliced her way through too many Tyger Claws to count, that same calm overcame her, the blade moving as if it were an extension of her body while bullets slid past her. Here, now, it didn’t matter to her that she was dying, that her brain was literally a ticking time bomb and would give out on her. All that mattered was that she was alive, and that she was going to get Rogue and everyone out alive. 

At least. 

That was the idea.

The world seemed to have other plans though and one moment V was swinging and the next she was falling to the left, the world around her nothing but a blur of light and darkness and became distinctly aware of several voices yelling her name. 

She nearly hit the floor, but at the last second she managed to catch herself, world spinning and V watched in slow motion as a blade came slicing downwards for her body. Ordinarily she would have moved, would have slid to the side and avoided the pain but she had just managed to get her body to stop falling. 

There was no way out of this.

Her hair blasted to the side and a flare of pain on her cheek, and the blade stopped its descent, twisting to the side as the man flew backwards, a spray of blood exploding from his chest and V swore.

“Sorry V! You okay?” Aeri’s voice was frantic. “I… I tried to miss you.”

“Fuck!” V staggered backwards, her blade also discarded on the floor, inhaling deeply. Luckily the pain from where her cheek had been grazed by Aeri’s life-saving shot had brought her slamming back into reality, and with a flick of her wrists the mantis blades activated and V launched herself forward into the small cluster of Animals who had gotten a little too close to Panam, red spraying everywhere as Rogue grabbed the kid up under one arm.

“Time to get the fuck out of here!” She yelled, firing off more shots. “We’re fighting a losing battle here.”

“Got ya, you got wheels?”

“Not gonna get there with this bag of bones.”

“Back a couple alleys,” Panam yelled, swinging her empty assault rifle like a club at a Tyger Claw’s head. “Aeri, get your ass to the car.”

“Yeah, on it…”

Johnny’s drone whizzed past, guns firing wildly at the Animals as he let out a burst of maniacal laughter, and V had to crack a smile at his antics. Was good to see him not moping around and being a dick to his friends. 

“Let’s move!” V landed a kick in the gut of a particularly burly Animals goon, and they sagged backwards a single step and then swung for her with an arm bigger than a tyre. For a second though, he jerked wildly and horribly like he’d been shocked and then dropped down to the ground, twitching. “Thanks Aeri!”

“Buy me a drink later.”

“I’ll buy you ten.”

“Keeping you to that.”

Their small group backed up, Johnny providing distraction as they went towards the nearest back alley. 

“The fuck is this kid anyway?”

“Some corpo’s brat, got stuck here when the Cage went up,” Rogue kicked a stack of trash and boxes over behind them. “The fuck you get back in town anyway?”

“Got some help, now I’m as fucked as you are.”

“More I’d say.”

V didn’t answer her, instead focusing on the situation at hand, eyes on the world around them in case they got jumped. So far nothing seemed to be chasing them, Johnny was doing a great job playing bait. 

They were nearly home free.

Of course, when your luck runs high, it’s bound to come crashing all the way down. 

They rounded the corner to find a group of Tyger Claws surrounding their car, and Aeri on her knees, a gun pressed to her forehead, a bruise blooming brilliantly around her eye and a trickle of blood running down her chin. 

_Fuck!_

“Ladies, you’ve been causing some real _shit_ for us,” The man holding the gun to Aeri’s head spoke, his voice heavily accented. “You’re going to have to pay for that.”

“Back the fuck up, you don’t want to do this,” Panam was basically a spitting fuming cat. “I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.”

“ _Urusai!_ ” He roared and jammed the gun harder into Aeri’s forehead. “You aren’t running the show here _bitchi_.”

“Panam…” V spoke softly, tone warning. “Listen, we didn’t start this, just trying to get a job done.”

“You killed my people!”

“We killed a _lot_ of Animals too,” V shot back. “The way I see it, you’ve got two options and both of them are going to end exactly the same way for you - in a _lot_ of pain before you end up in pieces so small they won’t know if you’re a corpse or fuckin’ synthmeat.”

“You’re crazy. We have your friend.”

“Me?” Aeri let out a low chuckle. “Trust me, I’m not worth the bullet you’ll lodge in my head. Will piss them off though, you know - having to find a replacement. Either way, you’ll end up dead if you don’t walk away. You know who they are? That’s V, and the pissed off looking grandma? That’s Rogue.”

“ _Uso!_ ” One of the other Tyger Claws called out. “ _Aniki_ …”

“ _Urusai_!” The leader screamed, but his eyes were now looking at V again, really taking the women in front of him, and it was like watching a light turn on in a dark room. The gun pressed to Aeri’s forehead dropped and he let out a steady stream of profanity in Japanese, before waving them over at the car. 

“Go away!”

“Jesus Aeri, you’re fucking insane!” Panam yanked her to her feet and she shot Panam a small apologetic smile, her face starting to blossom into a brilliant shade of bruised as she and Panam slid into the backseat, the kid getting shoved in as Rogue took the driver seat. V shot the retreating Tyger Claws one more lethal look and climbed in the car, her mantis blades sliding back in place as they screeched away from the overpass.

“Just another Thursday hey?”

“Shit, it’s Thursday? I forgot to pay the rent!” Rogue chuckled and V watched Panam roll her eyes in the backseat, as Aeri let a faint smile play across her lips.

~~~

“Thirty thousand extra, call it… emotional reparations,” Rogue growled at the corpo in the overpriced suit, leaning nonchalantly against the hood of the car as the kid - seemingly unfazed by the blood, gunfire and overall near-death experience - laughed and ran around, pretending he was some kind of superhero.

“You’re insane, you already demanded a danger fee and a rush fee,” The corpo wasn’t a chicken, that much could be said about him, intelligent not so much but at least he had a pair on him. “If you think…”

“Let me explain to you right now how this works,” Rogue cut him off, lifting one finger. “You lied to me about where the kid was, who had taken him and what we were walking into. Thirty thousand is nothing compared to how pissed off I am, but if you’re really willing to instead deal with my anger instead of coughing up a few extra eddies then…”

It was always fun watching that corpo confidence fight against common sense, like two armies waging war. The need to prove their superiority over those they deemed to be less than, clashing full on with the desire to keep all of their limbs attached to their body and in pristine condition were both strong in people like this. Thing was, self-preservation amongst cockroaches was always strongest among those who had the most to lose - money, wealth, power…

V had seen it a million times before, they all crumbled, just like this man did and Rogue gave him a nod of acknowledgement as the eddies transferred through, fortunately direct transfers and basic linking actions were still running smoothly without the larger access to the net because V wasn’t sure how well Rogue would take not being able to get her money immediately.

“We good here?” V asked as the man grabbed his son by his upper arm, dragging him away from the car and towards the building they’d parked outside of.

“Preem, what say we head back to The Afterlife and put some liquor in you girls?”

Panam made a noise of agreement and V climbed into the car, Rogue taking the wheel again - one day she’d convince people she could drive properly…

“So you gonna explain who the skinny girl is back there, and why you were willing to obliterate an entire legion of Tyger Claws for her? Other than the obvious that she’s worth a lot to the dick in the sky,” Rogue asked as they pulled out into the streets, the images of the war between Militech and Arasaka running on the screamsheets for what must have been the millionth time that day, followed by the words - here we are safe, here we are better and that creepy ass looking eye. From outside the cage, in the badlands, when Night City had gone dark it had been as if someone had turned off the whole world’s lights, and even though V had been half asleep in her tent, she’d noticed the lack of glaring light from the city. When that first new image had flared on the screen, of a girl - and that cage had gone up, V had known something very dangerous had happened, though to be honest she hadn’t expected this level of bullshit, nor that she’d be partnered up with the girl on the screen. 

V glanced back at Aeri, who was staring blankly out the window of the car - she knew that look, girl was running somewhere online, doing something - probably sassing the hell out of Johnny, or dredging up information. Wherever she was, it was probably better than in her body - that bruise looked like it hurt like fuck, and now that V was closer, she could see several finger shaped bruises around her neck and arms, and that her fingers were bloodied. Girl had put up one hell of a fight, considering her size, stature and overall weakness - Panam was right though, the girl needed to get her strength up, next time she wouldn’t get so lucky and with a gun to your head, facing down a group of people it was next to impossible to pull of a hack if they were watching you. V’d have to start training her.

“That’s Aeri, also known as Weaver,” Panam answered for V, her voice quiet - she looked tired too, they’d need a lot of booze and rest after this day. “She’s the only one who might be able to get us out of this shit.”

“Weaver hey? Damn glad that she’s stuck on this side of the Cage with us,” Rogue let out a tired sigh. “Assume you heard about those corpos who went after the AI? They took the best netrunners we had, now they’re dead.”

“Yeah, Aeri’s basically all we’ve got now,” V rested her head back against the seat. “Can’t afford to let her die.”

“You’re not a bad hacker yourself,” Panam added. 

“V’s good, but Weaver level? That girl there is a legend amongst the Deckheads and the runners of the world, spoken about in whispers and encrypted messages. Seeing her now, bruised to fuck and about the same weight as a new born baby - the fuck were you thinking bringing her with?”

“For your information, I weigh at least as much as a ten year old,” Aeri shot back, and Panam gave a little jolt at the sudden movement of the hacker. “Also, I managed to get three of them before they got me.”

“You could have gotten a thousand, problem is you still got caught,” Rogue’s voice was stern, leaving no room for backchat, though V knew Aeri would probably do it anyway. Girl had too little self-control. “You shouldn’t be going out when you’re not only the most wanted, but the most valuable person in Night City at this point.”

“I shouldn’t be doing a lot of things, but I do them anyway, and I’m still alive.”

“Blind arrogance will get you killed quicker than any bullet,” V frowned, she’d heard that tone before - it was Rogue’s Johnny tone, the one she used whenever she recalled anything about her one time friend and lover. Anger, a tinge of remorse and a whole bucket of disdain. 

“Look, it worked out this time,” V cut in, before things could escalate. “We got you out, and everyone’s more or less in one piece.”

“Hey Aeri, when the fuck do I get to hitch another drone ride?”

Johnny’s voice cut through the building tensions like a katana through flesh, the call hadn’t been disconnected, V had been too busy to notice. From the corner of her eye V watched as Rogue’s face shifted in an array of different emotions, and held back a small chuckle at her confusion. It was obviously still very disconcerting for her to hear his voice after so many years - when he’d worn her skin, it had still been her voice, only rougher and more dark, but still her. This was… very different.

“Depends on how quickly you plan on trashing the next one I find you,” Aeri let out a small sigh, and V watched her lean her head back, wincing. “First things first, I need an ice-pack or something.”

“First time gettin’ socked in the face?”

“Nope, gramps had a wicked old temper,” V watched her reach a hand up and lightly press on the skin around her eye. “First time getting beaten like a dog though.”

“First time’s always the worst,” Johnny chuckled.

“That’s a goddamn lie,” V cut in. “Don’t listen to that crazy old man. He gets off on pain.”

“I get off on a lot of things.”

“Don’t I know it,” Aeri, V and Rogue all muttered in unison and for a second there was stunned silence, before Rogue let out a huff of later, the car slowing as she pulled up to The Afterlife. “I don’t know, kid seems okay if she can handle Johnny. Just don’t do stupid shit, and we’ll be fine.”

“Fantastic. I’ll refrain from running naked through the streets yelling here I am then. There goes my ten o’clock plans. Johnny clear my diary would you?”

“Could do without the sass though,” Rogue growled as she parked the car.

“That’s like asking a corpo to be honest - never going to happen.”

Panam was the one to throw that comment, and the look Aeri shot her as they exited the car was enough to make V throw her head back with laughter, the warmth of the setting sun’s last rays brushing against her cheek.

Damn. She was going to miss this shit.


	24. Save me

I pressed the ice cold bottle of beer against my throbbing cheek and sighed as it slowly numbed the pain. I would have taken something for the pain, but I was still a little wary of any kind of drugs after the hell that my body had undergone during withdrawal. 

Across from me, V was laughing at something that Panam had said, while Rogue was leaning casually against the couch, watching with those eyes that seemed a little too sharp. Something about her pricked me, I didn’t know if it was because she could read a person at the drop of a hat, or if she was a little too intimidating for my liking, but whenever those eyes turned to me I felt my defenses fly up. Part of me felt like a child under the gaze of a stern mother, and I didn’t like that one bit, because I had zero idea how to react. 

Fuck but I was bad at being challenged. Going from the knower, to the known was  _ not  _ a pleasant experience.

“I’m gonna get some air,” I called at V and Panam, who nodded and I slid off the couch, beer in my hand as I wandered past the throngs of people who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere once we’d arrived. My body was exhausted, and as I climbed the stairs out of the club my left leg started trembling slightly - I really had overdone it today, but the adrenaline of the day had been totally worth it. 

As I stepped out into the Night City evening air, the sound of cars and sirens and distant gunshots washed over me. Down here, away from the Tower everything seemed so much more real and as I thought about having to go back to watching it all from so far away I felt increasingly sad. 

My HUD flickered, a connection request inbound from Johnny. He was getting much more chatty these days it seemed - not that I found myself bothered by that fact at all.

“What’s up this time old man?”

Johnny was silent for a moment, and I wondered if he was bristling from the comment.

“Wanted to say… thanks.”

If I hadn’t been leaning against the wall of the building, I’d probably have lost my balance from the sheer shock.

“What?!”

“You heard me!” He snapped, sounding absolutely embarrassed. “Don’t pretend you’ve gone deaf!”

“Yeah, but I think I might have gone insane. Did you just thank me? An Arasaka?”

“No, I didn’t, I thanked you, Aeri!”

I swear my heart skipped a beat at that, and a blush burned its way up my neck which made me confused and frustrated. I’d been locked away, but I’d dealt with plenty of men and women before - security guards and those business partners my grandfather had needed wooed by me, without giving away my identity - just another pretty secretary. I’d dealt with them all in the same way, a pretended smile here, a flirtatious comment there. It had all been so very mundane, so… calm. But this? I had to blame it on the fact that I was dying.

“What the fuck for?” I managed to sputter out, around my embarrassment. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Most fun I’ve had in a while? Letting me help? You take your pick.”

“If hijacking a drone is what you deem a good time, you should try jacking a tank - Leviathan class is the best,” I sank into the familiarity of my knowledge, escaping the embarrassment of earlier. “Nothing quite like it.”

“You’d teach me?”

I paused recalling the questions he’d been asking on the roof. Obviously Johnny was bored out of his mind, being nothing but a construct but fully human in most senses was not a great time for anyone.

“Sure thing, I’ll teach you what I can - though I dunno if I’m any good as a teacher.”

“I’m sure you’re fine. Better than any of the gonks who tried teaching me anything in school at least anyway. Might’ve even paid attention in your class.”

“Yeah right, Johnny Silverhand ever paying attention to anything but tits and booze? Fat chance of that happening.”

“You didn’t know me as a teenager!” Johnny laughed.

“I can imagine you were much the same, only you know, pimply and with a terrible voice break and you only got laid when you were like eighteen but you walked around like you had every girl in the school,” I closed my eyes, leaning more firmly against the wall. “Probably wrote really edgy poetry and stalked around like some goth.”

“That is absolutely!” Johnny stopped and let out a grumbling sound. “Very true… Fuck… Not fair. Not like you were any better!”

“I didn’t go to school, but as a teenager I was a nightmare.”

“More than you are now?”

“I’m downright adorable these days. I think I broke out of Arasaka Tower twice a week at least, never made it much further than the lobby most times, though once I did make it to the memorial site before they tazed me.”   
“They fuckin’ TAZED you?”

“I wouldn’t stop hacking them,” I shrugged, but a smile curled at my lips at the memory of how freedom felt, that first step outside of Arasaka Tower without a legion of guards or doctors around me. I had only ever felt alive in that moment, when I wasn’t deep in the net living a virtual life that was twice as good as my real life. 

“You probably ran your mouth at them too.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” I smirked into the darkness. “I’m a very well behaved girl.”

“You’re a fuckin’ brat.”

Again the skin on my cheeks flushed slightly and I inhaled deeply as I pushed away from the wall. I’d come out here to get away from the feelings of being uncomfortable, not get thrown right into them in a different way. 

“Whatever old man,” I replied as coolly as I could, though I was dead certain that the embarrassment in my voice was clear. “I’m going to get another drink.”

“You girls come up with a plan yet?”

“V and Panam are supposed to broach that with Rogue, I’m just along for the ride.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good place to be. You’re the one who should be running shit, after all none of them know jack about this AI.”

“I also know nothing about anything in Night City, and someone needs to know how we’re going to blast our way into Pacifica and get our hands on the AI,” I reminded him as I started climbing down the stairs. I made it down two, before my left leg stopped working properly and I careened forward, my hand gripping the railing so tightly I heard it bend under the strength of my cyberware. I managed to stop myself from toppling downwards, but a string of expletives in English and German came searing outwards, shocking the person who was descending next to me. They paused, reaching a hand out to see if I was okay and I knocked it back, shooting them a look so dark that they scrambled to get away and Johnny chuckled.

“Not bad, you could use that next time some assholes try kill you - might work better than you punching them.”

“Listen here,” I snarled as I slapped my hand down on my leg and manually running a reboot on the cyberware like Viktor had instructed me to when shit started going downhill. “Stop linking to my optics when I’m not paying attention.”

“How else am I gonna see you with a black eye? Not your best shade.”

“How about I see how it looks on you instead?” I was wobbling now, my balance on the edge of the stairs not nearly as secure as I’d have liked it to be. “Privacy invading perverted old man…”

“You haven’t kicked me out yet.”

“A little busy right now.”

“Never stopped you before.”

“Why the fuck do I keep you around?”

  
  


~~~

“You’re back, good,” Rogue waved me over, the mood in the booth had shifted since I’d left and my back inched up straighter. That amount of seriousness in one area usually meant I’d need to pay attention. “Tell me straight - cause a rumour is a rumour, and hacking some low life thugs is childsplay - how good are you? Really? You stand a chance against this thing?”

I bristled slightly at this, but I also knew that Rogue was a careful woman, who played in facts and certainties - her asking was just a part of her nature. I could respect her line of questioning, and I did, but it still was annoying that everywhere I went my ability was brought into question.

“I  _ am _ the best hacker you’re going to find this side of the Cage,” I took the glass of amber liquid from V and sipped it slowly. “As to whether I stand a chance against Altor or not? That’s only going to be possible with a lot of help from a lot of different parties. This thing is a god in its own right, and if I go at it from a normal setup I’ll not make it out again.”

“So what’s the fascination with you about?” Rogue leaned forward slightly, and I watched Panam’s eyes lock onto me. I hadn’t exactly shared the happenings of my encounter with the AI with them in full, I’d been too busy processing them and the fact that I’d basically died. “AI calling you out like that, only makes you put a target on its back and if you’re as good as you say, why would the AI risk it?”

I took a deep drink from the glass and placed it down on the table in front of us and inhaled deeply.

“Fucking AI has been programmed to understand and replicate emotions.”

“Oh shit,” V ran a hand down her face, a dark look on her features. “You’re kidding me?! Tell me you’re kidding me right?”

“I wish I was.”

“Fuck!” She kicked the table, hard. “FUCK!”

“What the fuck? Why is that so bad?” Rogue was frowning at us. “I don’t get it.”   
“A normal AI is tough to deal with as a human because it’s a series of logic and code right? They can plot a million different probabilities and paths and run numbers and basically out-logic a human at every turn,” V explained, voice tight. “Only edge you got on a rogue AI is that you’re human, you can do the unexpected, that you can turn the tables just by nature of your emotions. An AI can’t account for that, and not only that, they’ll always perform the best possible move through statistics - say, blowing up Night City wouldn’t be beneficial because then they’d have no way to move resources, they’d be undermining their code to select the best possible move right? Let’s just change the ante up a bit though, this AI can  _ feel _ and if it gets pissed off, or sad with all of that emotion it’s volatile and the best possible option for it won’t be the statistical one, it’ll be one that feels right. You can’t... “

V broke off and slumped back in the chair, a wave of despair coming off of her. Panam was right there with her, and I sighed heavily.

“Wait, you’re telling me that this thing is human?”

“It’s basically a human with the processing abilities of an AI, yeah,” Panam’s leg was bouncing a mile a minute and I could see her brain working overtime to try to find a plan, a bright side, any kind of solution. 

“So we’re fucked?”

“Yes, and no,” I managed with a sigh. “There’s… some wiggle room here. The AI is young, and basically an angsty teenager with no real understanding of the world, itself and how it fits in. That’s why it wants me around, to guide it, to help it? I guess because I spent so much time in the net that maybe it thinks we’re similar? Whatever the fucking reason, right now, I am the one thing that can turn the tide.”

“How the hell are you planning on doing that?” Rogue was visibly shaken, and I couldn’t blame her at all. Right now, things were dire. “We can’t fight off… Fuck.”

“We can, and we will,” I checked the HUD, Johnny was still patched in, watching, listening. I considered kicking him out for a second, and then shrugged the idea away, better for him to be in on this, than for me to exclude him and have him rage at me later. “I have a plan. It’s still a work in progress, but…”   
“Why do I get the feeling we won’t like this plan?”

V’s voice was a low growl, dark and filled with warning for me not to come forth with any exceptionally stupid ideas. 

“We give the AI what it wants.”

“ _ EXCUSE ME?” _

“No fucking way!”

“You’re FUCKING GONKED!”

The three yells from Panam, V and Johnny were enough to send a lance of pain down my head, and I could feel the start of a headache threatening up and over the throb of my bruised face.

“Explain,” Rogue was the only calm reply to my announcement, and I shot her a grateful look for her analytical mind. 

“If I’m there, then the AI is going to be off guard, focused on that situation. Like a kid with a new toy, which means that then we can get in and get rid of it. It’s probably hosted itself in a physical fortress, so even I managed to hack past its ICE and get to it virtually, I couldn’t destroy it by myself.”

“That’s the most stupid shit I’ve ever heard, we can do the same thing, but keep you away from some psychotic shit hole AI,” Panam growled at me. “There’s no way we’re sending you in there like some sacrificial virgin offering.”

“Firstly that card’s long out the window, secondly I don’t think you understand how few options we realistically have Panam,” I pinched the bridge of my nose, centering myself away from the headache rising along with my tingling legs. “I’m on  _ very _ borrowed time, and even if I wasn’t there’s no way we can face off against that thing. This isn’t a fairytale, there’s no rallying force waiting to help us. It’s us and whatever ragtag group Rogue can throw together and the way I’m looking at it, without the AI off guard and vulnerable, it’s tickets.”

“Look at it differently then!” 

Panam shot to her feet and made a noise of pure disgust, glaring at both V and I.

“I get saddled with the two of  _ you _ . You two… Fucking assholes who are willing to let yourselves die because that’s what you think will be the path of least resistance and pain for everyone else. I can’t take it anymore, the glib jokes and the forced smiles while you both fucking wither. You ever think that you’re not doing anyone any fucking favours by letting yourselves die, or go into mortal peril?” She wasn’t shouting, and I think maybe it would have been better if she had, but the quiet tremor in her voice and the way her fists were clenched was more heart wrenching than I could stomach. “I can’t do this. I’m not watching  _ you _ die V, and I’m not going to let you throw yourself away Aeri. Fucking… Why can’t I just have normal goddamn friends?!”

Panam shoved past V, who like me looked like she was feeling sick to the stomach and the blue haired woman reached out for her friend as she stormed away, but didn’t call her back. Instead she let her hand slowly drop down, sighing heavily.

“For what it’s worth,” Rogue sighed, and slowly pushed to her feet. “Aeri’s plan is crazy, but it is probably our only option at this point. I do agree with Panam though, standing back and watching you throw yourselves at death like it’s an old friend isn’t exactly easy for us left behind. I don’t know you kid, but I think I’d like to, I mean if you can get Panam to like you this quickly, then... “

Rogue walked past me, and paused at the edge of the booth.

“Figure everything out. Down to the smallest detail, and then I’ll give you whatever help you need, and do try to find a way that doesn’t get you, V, Panam or me killed in the process would ya?”

I nodded mutely at her, and as she walked away, V and I shared a long look. The ghost of her misery dancing in her eyes, much the same as I’m sure my own was.

“I’ll go talk to Panam,” V sighed at me, running her hand up through her hair. “Take the car back to the warehouse, we’ll probably be a while.”

I nodded at her, and slowly got to my feet.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t want you to die V and Panam’s plan to save you is something that I’ll devote myself to as much as possible before we go after the AI.”

“Kid…” V shot me a small smile. “Anyone tell you that you’re a good person?”

“I’m not a good person,” I chuckled. “I’m just desperate to leave at least one decent memory of me around before I go.”


	25. 8 Legged Dreams

Driving home from Afterlife was quiet and stressed. Not only was I about as confident with the car as I was about walking, but there'd obviously been a storm up in the badlands and the winds were whipping furiously as visibility dropped to a low dull grey in the nighttime glow from the screamsheets. They'd changed a little, showing fewer images of war and instead now featuring just that eye for longer moments. I frowned, the AI was up to something again, but right now, for tonight, I figured I could focus on something else. I took an extra long way home, the words that Panam had hurled at me and V still ringing over and over in my head, and as I stared at the world zipping past the windows of the car I couldn’t help but feel my heart clench. Of course Panam had a point, I mean the woman was smarter than me probably, but that didn’t stop me from feeling like she’d somewhat overreacted. 

She didn’t get it, she’d only ever faced death as a foe, as something she had to kick and scream and fear. She had spent so long doing everything humanly possible to survive that to her, death was some giant full stop that was the most terrifying thing in the world. However, to V and I, it was something else entirely. Yes, V had spent all her life fighting death, dearing it a thousand times over, the numerous scars across her body and the way she moved around were clear indicators of that, but now? She’d come to understand death the same way that I had. A lifetime of suffering, of knives and operations and monthly part changes like I was some kind of malfunctioning car and not a human being had allied me with death in a way that I was comfortable with. When it came knocking, and it would very soon, I wasn’t going to shy away from it, because I’d rather a full stop, than a comma and another comma that did nothing but drag out misery.

My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as I pulled to a halt at the small back alley parking lot we'd designated as our emergency rendezvous and parking spot, close enough to run to, but far enough that it wasn't easily visible to anyone raiding the warehouse.

I took a deep breath and slid out of the car, locking it behind me and with a glance out at the docks I set off, I couldn't go back now. I just needed... 

Space.

My feet beat a staccato rhythm on the pavement, I was bone achingly tired and just moving was a chore but I needed this. I needed to just escape my reality for a moment, to feel something other than shame and panic and unending pools of despair.

The night time light was muted as it shone on the water, cut by the haze in the air, but as I situated myself atop a cargo container it was somehow still mesmerising.

"You gonna lurk all night or say something?" I muttered into the night air, my breath coming up a cloud. It was chilly here. 

"Panam pretty much covered what my thoughts on the matter are," Johnny's voice was quiet, the deep timbre of it more pronounced this way. I kind of preferred it, it was oddly soothing despite the foulness of the mood attached to it. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, the air stinging a path down to my lungs. "I will add more though."

"Go ahead."

"Gal like you? You're surviving when you could be thriving, and when all this shit is said and done you've gotta give yourself a chance to do that. Get yourself away from those fuckers you cling to, find your own life, hell get married if you want to and pop out a couple of hyper intelligent, potty mouthed kids who have more heart than common sense. Or don't, just set up on a beach somewhere and learn how to bake or some shit. Fuck... just figure out how to be happy on your terms."

My heart stuttered in my chest and I had to bite on my lip to stop the tears welling in my eyes from falling. What the fuck was his problem? Being nice all of a sudden? No way in hell, he didn't get to do that.

A flame of anger licked at the bottom of my gut and I found a dry laugh escaping me. Oh shit, here we go... I wanted to stop myself from what came next but it was so ingrained in me, in my heart that I couldn't.

"The fuck you know about me? Like I'd want any of that shit. I'm not some sad sap like you. Never mind that I'm diseased and no man or woman on earth wants that."

"Tell that to the man in the club. God you're such a little bitch, using that self loathing to drive away everything positive. Fuckin get a hold of yourself, ain't gonna work on me. I invented that game."

"Men like that ain't worth shit to me."

"Then find another one. Plenty out there."

"They aren't..." I hissed at myself in anger, horror and my hand slammed down onto the cargo box. "Is that the life you want for you?"

"What?"

I could tell he was caught off guard by the question but he recovered quickly enough.

"I'm dead Aeri."

"Humour me," I lay back on the box and closed my eyes, diving into the server hosted on my phone. The world around me spun away and when I opened my eyes again I was looking at a particularly irate Johnny. Combat vest gone, nothing but tank and dog tags dangling as he sat cross legged on the floor, in front of him what looked to be some kind of chess board. Man must have been incredibly bored if he was playing chess against himself.

"Listen up, you don't just go netrunning when you're out in the middle of nowhere you dumbass, plenty of tweakers and fuckin' pervs out there!"

"Jesus dad I'm fine!" I grumbled back at him, sitting down on the other side of the chess board. "Only thing out there tonight is the wind. No one's dumb enough to run around the docks with the weather like this and Maelstrom partying it up."

"You're there."

"Well we both know my self preservation setting is turned off."

"Exactly. Get the fuck back to reality and don't get yourself killed."

"Sounds to me like you're just scared of losing to me at chess."

"Do you even know what half of these things are? Little before time isn't it?"

"Rook, knight, bishop, King and Queen. Lastly the little ones in the front are the pawns."

"Quick question. What exactly don't you know?"

"How to get you to play a game of chess against me."

Johnny quirked an eyebrow at me and I realised that he wasn't wearing his glasses. 

"I'll play. If you get your danger attracting ass out of the docks and into bed."

"Damn Silverhand, buy a girl a drink before you demand she climbs in bed," I grumbled at him but I stood up. He was right, and I really didn't feel like dying because I was feeling lazy. 

"You'd get in there after just one drink? Cheap date."

I shot him a smirk. 

"Obviously my lack of sex life has left me desperate."

"Are you... is this? Is the little Arasaka princess flirting with the terrorist?"

"Looks like he's flirting right back."

A look flickered across Johnny's face and then he was chuckling at me and he leaned back onto his hands. 

"Go home Aeri."

"Fine," I sighed and stuck my tongue out at him as I logged out, and the cold night air slammed into me. I shivered as I pushed up and off the container, rubbing my hands up and down my arms as I headed for the warehouse. Every noise seemed louder as I went, maybe Johnny's instance that I return home was spooking me because I jumped sky high as a rat scampered past my foot, a string of profanities leaving my throat as I did. 

"Fuckin' badass hacker girl shitting herself for a rat?" 

"Piss off Silverhand."

"Any other phobias?"

"Sure."

"What are they?"

"You first, you've already got one of mine."

"What makes you think I'm scared of anything?"

I unlocked the warehouse door, the turret scanning me as I entered and turning back to sentry mode.

"Everyone's scared of something."

"Fine. Eat something and I'll tell you."

I frowned but I headed for the fridge, yanking out a burrito and a slice of leftover pizza. 

"I don't know if I prefer you hating me or this weirdly doting side."

"I can scream at you if you want."

"No thanks, I have enough of a headache."

I shoved the pizza into my mouth as I staggered up the stairs, layers of clothes peeling off as I entered my room, boots kicked into the corner, and my too tight jeans that V had basically threatened me at gunpoint with lobbed to the farthest corner. I grabbed an oversized shirt whose origins I couldn't recall, bra kicked in the general direction of my pants and I realised as I stood in front of the mirror, pizza between my lips, in nothing but my underwear that Johnny was still patched in. 

I froze like someone had hacked my cyberware and waited for the jarring comment about the countless scars across my stomach, the endless masses of bruises that made my skin look like a patchwork quilt. I could actually see my body gearing up to flinch as he commented on how he'd seen better bodies on corpses or something similar. I bit back a blush and yanked the shirt up and over my head, quickly covering the sight and turned my back on the mirror as quickly as I could without looking like I was in full on panic mode and shoved my mouth full of pizza as I dove into the bed. The world went dark as I slid in under the covers, squeezing my eyes shut as tightly as I could.

“You wanna play that game of chess or not?” Johnny asked, voice quiet. “Or you gonna hide like a toddler so I don’t kick your ass?”

I blinked confusedly, stirring myself out of the pity party I’d been beginning to throw in my head.

“I don’t have all night, got some BD’s lined up here, so…”

“Damn Silverhand, if you wanna get your rocks off, don’t let me stop you,” I hissed as I snuggled into the pillows, still not peering out from under the blankets. 

“Not porn you gonk, though nice show you gave me earlier so I’ll be enjoying that for a long time to come. You should wear something with more cleavage, tits like that…”

“FUCK YOU!” I yelled, my face the colour of fire. “Stop. God… Johnny!”

“Nice way you say my name there.”

“Nope. Nope! Nope!”

I disconnected the call as quickly as I could, and threw myself out of the bed, stumbling to the shower and slamming the water on as my whole body blushed from head to toe. What in the fuck was wrong with me? I stripped, and slid into the water the cool water heating quickly as I let it basically drown me and my embarrassment. 

I’d have to ask V to hook me up with something to relieve my stress, and soon. Before comments that normally I’d have shaken off from the playboy rocker triggered more than  _ just _ a blush out of me.

Fuck!

~~~

V and Panam didn’t come home that night, I knew because I only managed to dredge out about two hours of sleep overall, my mind running through around a hundred different scenarios and problems until eventually I passed out from exhaustion and pain and I woke up what felt like moments later with the sound of my phone ringing next to my head.

“What?” I snarled into the phone, curling into a ball against the morning sun. “What the  _ fuck _ do you want from me?”

“Hey… uh… Aeri?”

“Panam, I swear to Satan that I’m going to strangle you with a sock…” 

“Yeah, sure… sure, but could you maybe first save us?”

I winced, as I accidentally rubbed over the bruises on my face.

“What now?”

“So we kinda… broke into Arasaka tower, and turns out a shit ton of the defenses aren’t powered down and now there’s a horde of shit chasing us and… help?”

“Jesus Christ Panam,” I shot upright in the bed, and then dropped back down again as my body rebelled violently and for a moment I wondered if my lungs had just stopped working as every breath I tried to pull in was nothing but a struggle. Except as I focused it eased, and I filed the information away for later as I gasped in a deep breath - something new to add to the list of failing body parts it seemed. “Fucking fine, which floor are you on?”

“V?! Tenth? Seventeenth? Which is it you gonk?” I rolled my eyes as they bickered back and forth, reaching over and dragging the laptop from the bedside table onto the bed next to me and opening it. Normally I’d just hack in from anywhere, using the net, but here? Isolated? I’d have to get there in time… Best I could do was play guide until I could get there in person and directly hack the Arasaka Blacksite server. “It’s the tenth floor.”

I jacked into the laptop, and pulled up the schematics of the tower, filtering through the hundreds of different bits of information I had, until I isolated the basic layouts. 

“Right, patch V into the call,” I ordered Panam. “You’re going to head to the right hand corner of the floor, access point, get V to jack in - code’s sent to her phone. From there she’ll be able to disable the security, problem is, everything from floor eighteen and up runs on its own private server, so you’ll need to access them one by one.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not, not even a little bit, so get your asses into gear. I’m heading your way as soon as possible. When I get there, we’re going to have a serious discussion about your shotgun plans and their exclusion of me in them, and then you’re going to buy me beer, sake and some other… necessary items.”

“Whatever you want!”

“Good,” I grabbed my laptop, and connected Johnny into the call. He greeted us with a loud groan, and then a laugh as Panam swore at him. “V and Panam got up to shit, again.”

“Oh fuck, this sounds fun - who’d ya fuck this time V? The cop? Judy?”

“Johnny… I’m gonna put your damn engram in a cloned body one day, just so I can kill you myself,” V snarled into the call as I shoved my feet into the boots I’d worn last night, the soft leather gently folding around my feet, and my legs into a pair of shorts I’d scrounged out of nowhere. I tucked the laptop up under my arm as I raced down the stairs, and into the kitchen, grabbing the med case from the counter and then I was bolting for the door.

“I don’t think this is what I agreed too when we said I need to practice my… physical… fitness!” I huffed over the line as my feet slammed onto the ground, rushing for the direction of where I'd parked the car, startling a homeless person as I rocketed past, earning a yell and expletive thrown my way, along with a bottle. 

“Anything is better than nothing,” Johnny yawned, and for a moment I wondered if throwing him into a body so I could strangle him would be worth it. 

Definitely. 

“We’re moving up, security is disabled.”

“God, can’t you just wait for me?”

“AI’s goons were sniffing around the tower when we got here, I don’t want to overstay our welcome,” V’s voice was quiet. “Hurry would you?”

“This… This is why… you don’t leave… the hacker behind!” I yelled into the line and at the sky as I ran as fast as my underdeveloped legs would take me. “JESUS!”


	26. Careless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. First real holiday in a year happening right now, alongside a world of other shit.

V knew she and Panam had fucked up by coming in here without Aeri. That much had been evident from the get go, but V had also known that the hacker was worn out and she’d rather face a wave of hell than get the girl killed because of her lack of sleep. Now, as they stood in the elevator riding it upwards towards dangers unknown, V was convinced she was probably going to die in this godforsaken corpo shithole tower, or she’d get punched to kingdom come by its partial owner. 

V would rather take the death instead of Aeri’s wrath. She’d seen that self-same flare of mania in the girl’s eyes that she herself had seen so many times in herself - in her element, Aeri was ruthless and wild and untameable, a wicked being of power and death. Fuck, if that didn’t scare the shit out of her, nearly as much as that sniper shot the girl had pulled off. Even Panam wouldn’t have made that shot as cleanly as Aeri had, and V could only imagine the destruction the girl would wreak if she had full functionality of her limbs - geared out in that much top tier cyberware…

“I’m ten minutes out.” Aeri was gasping for breath into the call, and Panam’s face twisted with guilt. “Don’t die until I get there, I want to kill you two myself for this one.”

“Roger that boss,” V shot back, and leaned against the elevator wall. “We really should have thought this one through, shouldn’t we?”

“You know better than to go with my shotgun plans,” Panam grumbled back at her. “Remember what happened with the Wraiths and the Manticore?”

“Forgive me for thinking you’d learned a lesson after I spent two hours fishing you out of a goddamn minefield,” V shot back at her. “Fuck, we really do get ourselves into a whole mess of shit, don’t we?”

“Aldecaldo lifestyle isn’t for the faint of heart.”

"I'm more ready to go with V and Panam are idiots," The merc let out a heavy sigh and checked the clip on her gun. She'd need all the resources she had at this point. "Fuck, this better not have been a waste of time."

"Aeri gave us the maps and stuff."

"Yet here we are, up shit creek. Dammit I just wanted to go home and sleep Pan, but no quick run, ten minutes in and out... now I'll be yanking bullets out my body for the next three days."

"Fuck you're being exceptionally whiny today, you know that V?"

"Tends to happen when you're shot at on an empty stomach."

"V's hangry," Johnny piped up and V watched Panam stiffen nearly imperceptibly. God fuckin' dammit she needed to get those two to make up somehow, though just not to the same level Aeri was at. V's mouth twitched up into a grin at the corner, she'd seen just how flustered the girl had looked as she'd returned from getting air and there was only one reason for anyone to look like that.

Hell V would have even felt a pinch of jealousy if she hadn't long since realised that whatever romantic feelings she'd once harboured for the rocker had been nothing but stockholm syndrome. Desperation for anything good in a time of darkness and despair... no Johnny was her partner in crime, her friend but he wasn't someone she'd ever feel that way about again. 

"Never take V out without feeding her first. She once ripped an Animal basically in half with her bare hands after they knocked the power bar out her hands she'd spent her last eddies on. Shit was breathtaking."

"Again. I'm going to beat you senseless Silverhand," V mumbled, a flare of embarrassment lining her as the elevator pulled up to the eighteenth floor. "Alright, intermissions over. Time for the show to resume."

Her hand readjusted its grip on her sword and she lifted her pistol as the doors slid open, the gun resting on the stable part of her wrist, the katana pointing out behind her, ready to slash. Panam was the first out the door, gun blazing wildly, taking out a drone before it had even gotten the time to register their position and a whoop of exhilaration left her lips.

"Maybe we should learn more about quick hacking next time we launch a two man assault?" V yelled at Panam as she fired wildly at a large drone, a nearby turret opening fire at them. She leapt to the side, rolling under the gun fire as it pelted the floor where she'd been standing, marble spraying up into the air. Her hand grabbed a grenade from her pocket and she lobbed it hard and high, feet sliding up under her as she engaged her combat cyberware, the world around her slipping into a smooth blur as her legs basically warped her forward past the open space between her and the turret. Behind her the grenade exploded in near slow motion as the turret locked on to the visible threat but V didn't spare even a thought to it as she moved. Her pistol was long discarded, and her blade came up and around, the reinforced metal ripping right through the turret in a shower of sparks and wiring.

"Now that was impressive!" Panam called at her. "Think you can do it again?"

V glanced up at another turret and groaned, but pushed forward regardless as Panam yelled at Aeri to give them more directions to the access point. 

"I'm nearly there! Access point, far left corner, two pillars adjacent."

"What floor are we even trying to get to?" V's breath was shaky and she could feel her strength fading slowly. Normally a night out, and two days of fighting were child's play for her, but since her brain was fried... she pushed the thought aside, skidding around the pillar as Panam drew fire, whipping out her personal link and jacking into the system. 

"Codes. I need codes Aeri!" V winced as a stray bullet pinged past her, and a drone exploded nearby.

"Sorry I missed that one!" Panam called from somewhere to her right.

"Shit. Uh... code, code..." Aeri let out a litany of profanities as an incoming file transfer lit up V's HUD. "We've got a problem downstairs."

"Speak for yourself. Everythin' here works just fine."

"Not the time for dick jokes Silverhand!" Aeri's voice was panicked and V's face twisted into a frown as the codes switched the drones and turrets that were still remaining to friendly mode. 

"Talk to me Aeri."

"Goons from the AI are gathering like fuckin' flies to a buffet," Johnny answered. "Our girl's currently hiding from them behind a bush. Aeri, you're not a goddamn bird, they're gonna see you!"

"Wait, why are you out of the car?!" Panam stepped up next to V. "Fuck, we just had this discussion with you, you raging suicidal maniac child."

"Aeri can't answer on account of her sneaking past several armed men, also she rolled her eyes so hard at you that I got goddamn whiplash."

"Aeri! Get back to the car, we've got this."

"Honestly sweetcheeks if you'd had this, you wouldn't have called Aeri in."

"I'm going to kill him. I am!"

V could feel her brain slowly melting with the amount of fighting happening, and she held up a hand to silence Panam mid tirade, scanning through the floor plans Aeri had sent them. Now that they'd cleared the public floor elevators, they could take the private one up to the R&D department, grab the damn case and get the fuck out before one of them got killed, or killed each other. 

Saviours of Night City? Fat fuckin' chance, they were nothing more than a dysfunctional family with Panam running around like a headless mother hen, Johnny the coked out half feral teenager with authority issues and Aeri the one always in the middle of some or other shitstorm whether by her design or others. 

"Wonder what that makes me?" V mused as she waved Panam over to the elevator, the dark haired woman shooting her a long questioning look. "In our little dysfunctional family."

"Homicidal uncle with a shotgun." Panam replied quickly. "Only, you drink more, use swords and you don't yell, you just kill."

"Aw you know me so well!"

"Okay! Okay... I'm inside. Safe-ish for now!" Aeri sounded so breathless and proud of herself that V didn't have the heart to scold her for not listening to them. "I'm going to jack into the Tower."

"We've got this Aeri. Go back to the car already!"

"The AI managed to hack past the main floors. I need to see how he did it, it should've been impossible."

"There are better times to do this!"

"Just go get your damn Relic would you? I'm already here."

V glared at the wall of the elevator, punching up for the floor. Part of her was terrified of ever seeing another Relic again in her life, but - though she'd never admit it to anyone - a tiny part of her was sputtering with hope and joy. That maybe, maybe she could have just a little more time...

"What kind of security are we looking at in R&D?"

"Turrets, drones and some prototype security measures I haven't got much information on," Panam's eyes glowed blue as she scanned the files. "From what I can tell, it's not going to be fun."

"None of this has been fun."

"You don't like busting into Arasaka Tower?"

"Didn't like it the first time, sure as fuck don't like it now," V sighed and her mind flicked back to the assault. Of death and endless gunfire and watching Johnny leave her there, alone, without her best friend and without hope. She'd nearly broken, would have broken if Panam hadn't been there to carry her, literally and figuratively from the ruins.

"Jesus..." Aeri let out a low whistle. "I'm impressed. I hadn't even thought this was possible and I've spent my whole goddamn life in this place."

"What did you find?"

"AI was here, or at least a proxy of its was carrying it in. Once they jacked it into the Tower, it went straight for the offsite link from the public floors, then backtraced the data and fed the security a virus which disabled it for enough time that they could storm the building. It's probably what blew a hole in the front of this place... Fuck, how didn't I see this flaw?"

"Any of you get a word of that?" Johnny asked.

"Bits and pieces," V shrugged. "So long as Aeri understands, that's all that matters, because when she stops understanding hacking that's the moment we're truly fucked."

"Floor's coming up," Panam slammed a new mag into her gun and winced as her hand went for her ammo pouch. "I'm out."

"Fire only when you need to," V informed her, her eyes inspecting her blade. It was time to repair the thing, this slashing drones wasn't good for her baby. "I'll draw fire, you hack the security. Ri send her the codes."

"On it."

The elevator slid to a halt and V gripped her blade tightly in front of her, cyberware humming in her legs as the doors whooshed open and then she was moving. A whirlwind of silver, blue and sparks as drone after drone exploded around her, none getting a chance to even scan her. Panam hauled ass for the access point behind a desk, her fingers fumbling with her personal link. Overhead the sound of a turret targeting, and the hail storm of bullets launched at V as Panam made herself as tiny as possible were her motivators. V leapt high over a desk, knocking over the computer and random discarded tech, as two more turrets whirred to life. 

"Hurry!" She had never been one to ever use quick hacks, but now as she was running for her life she'd wished she'd invested a tiny bit more in RAM units so she could get out of this in one piece. 

"I'm working on it!" Panam yelled back and finally managed to jack in, uploading the codes she'd gotten from Aeri. 

There was a beep and then...Nothing happened.

"It's not working!"

"What do you mean it's not working!?"

"Aeri!"

"Must be a fail safe, probably requires double authentication. Fuck... just, give me a second here!"

V knew she basically only had a second as what she thought was a box of some sort shuddered as she continued running away from the turret fire and unfolded itself into a very tall, very lethal looking robot. A singular red eye flared to life and V swore heavily as it whipped an arm out to catch her as she flitted past. Reflexively she ducked, sword slicing upwards and there was a painful wrench in her arm. Steel shattered and her katana became worthless in her hands, nothing but a hilt and around ten centimeters of blade left.

She’d have spent time lamenting the loss of her blade, if she wasn’t about ten seconds from a similar fate herself. Still moving faster than most humans could track, V’s mantis blades engaged with a whir, and she leapt forwards as that metallic arm came slashing down for her head, slamming into a nearby desk with enough force that it rattled her teeth.

“What the  _ fuck  _ is that thing?!” Panam let off several shots, all of which harmlessly bounced off the metal body of the massive, dangerous looking bot. “V you good?”

V groaned as her body screamed in pain from the collision, but she knew even now that she didn’t have time to wait around, that bot was fast and she was a sitting duck out here, with turrets peppering her with fire too. A sharp lance of pain went down her right side, and V didn’t have to look to see that she was bleeding somewhere along her torso, probably a stray bullet or debris from her collision.

“Aeri?!”

“Fuck I’m trying here!” The girl hissed angrily. “Just… One... Second!”

There was a pained shout across the line, and around V and Panam the world blasted itself into a shower of sparks and smoke as everything seemingly electrical exploded at once. Both women ducked for cover, as the lights went out completely, the turrets powering down along with them. However there was no time to relax, as the bot was still stomping angrily towards V, red optics laser focused on her.

“Short circuited… one minute.”

Aeri’s voice was nothing but a whisper, but as Johnny hadn’t started yelling at them, V figured she wasn’t in any mortal peril, so instead she plunged a MaxDoc into her thigh, the meds and painkillers and whatever other dark magic they put in the syringe enough to jerk her away from the sharp pain in her side. Her blades up and out, the merc’s legs kicked her forward towards the bot and they began a dance that V had spent all too many hours perfecting. A hack and a slash and a kick here and there, ducking and twisting as she whittled away the armour of the bot - V knew that if this thing had been anything other an experimental machine she’d have probably been laid out already.

“Got eyes on the other access point V!” Panam called, somewhere in the dark. “Let’s finish this fucker and get out of here!”

V nodded, and with a blow fuelled by desperation she slammed the tip of her mantis blade into the chink between the chest panels of the bot, her other hand yanking out a grenade from her belt and when she twisted her blade into that weak spot, opening the circuitry enough that she could replace blade with nade. Exhausted, it took everything in V’s body to kick backwards, away from the staggering bot and headlong into the darkness, desks and tech exploding around her, but in much less spectacular fashion than what the grenade sent up as it eviscerated the robot, the room lighting up blindingly as if someone had let off fireworks, fire and metal flying through the air in a shower as wondrous as any display.

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ!” Panam yelled, V dazed and bruised on the floor, head swimming.

"Time to get up and move it, you can sleep when we get home!" V groaned at Panam but with a phenomenal effort dragged herself from the debris, Mantis blades sliding away while her body aches its way towards the access point. She'd gladly have lain there on the floor for the next few hours, but she knew she that pretty sure whatever Aeri had done for them was going to wear off. Her fingers shook as she jacked into the access point, and waited as Panam transferred the code to her. The emergency power to the floor flickered back on but the turrets didn't power up and the merc slid down the wall, waving Panam off. She just needed half a minute... 


	27. crash

"Johnny is Aeri ready? We're coming down and this fucking box is huge." Panam watched V warily from the corner of her eye. The merc was pale, and the side of her shirt clung wetly to her side as she breathed in shallowly. V shot her a hard look, challenging Panam to say something at all to her about her current state. 

"Up and movin'," Johnny replied, voice quiet. "Got a bunch of goons waitin' for ya. Only benefit is they got no clue you're here, too busy huntin' for out asses."

"God, more bullets?" V sighed yanking out another MaxDoc from her pouch, the last she had. "How many at the elevator?"

"In total? We got about ten in the building, and a shit load outside."

"Fuck, I don't know if I can take that many, and Panam's out. Not to mention she's got this fuckin' chip with her."

"I've got it," Aeri breathed softly. "Just run for the car."

"Excuse me?!" 

"Panam shut the fuck up. You're hauling ass for that car and I'm going to get us all there in one piece," There was an edge to Aeri's voice that made V stiffen. It was dark, and she'd never heard the young woman sound like that before. It conjured images of herself, younger and desperate to get rid of a construct in her head. Something had changed. That would be the first thing V figured out once she'd had a long night's rest and many, many drinks. 

"Fifth floor and counting."

"Head out to the right. I parked near the monument. Johnny are you ready?"

"Ready as ever darlin' but you sure about this?" 

"Do I look like I'm sure?" Aeri snapped but there was no real malice in her voice at all, just suppressed terror. "Get your fuckin' asses ready."

The elevator slid open as V plunged the needle into her side.

×××××

Johnny's voice disconnected briefly as I pulled out the assault rifle I'd taken from the boot of the car. It was a heavy fucking thing, but in this place there was no time to set up a sniper rifle. My fingers closed around the canister of what appeared to be Black Lace that I'd found tucked up under a leather jacket of V's that featured a red snarling Oni that reminded me of the times I'd thrown beans at Terry during the  _ Setsubun _ festival.

Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!

I remember yelling that, to chase the demons away and invite joy, but they'd never truly left me at that time and I'd instead ended up befriending and even taming them. What a disappointment I was to my people… 

The chime for the elevator arriving pinged loudly and I released the safety on the gun.

"Get your asses fuckin' ready!"

Every goon in the building turned at that sound and I brought the canister up to my lips, and inhaled deeply. 

The edges of my vision turned a brilliant blue hue, and I hissed at the sudden rush of freedom and energy that flooded my system, the earlier short circuit that had fizzled and shocked its way across my body was nothing but a fleeting memory. Popping up from behind the reception desk I'd used as cover I opened fire on the goons, one of them going down immediately in the hail of bullets. My shots were wild, even with the black lace in my system the recoil of the gun was insane and the finer motor control I required to correct wasn't something my dying nerves could activate. 

"Fuck, get her!"

I dove for cover as the bullets peppered the desk and wall, wincing as one whistled too close my body for comfort. With my laptop stowed away in the backpack I'd grabbed from the trunk I was slower than I wanted to be, but fortunately help came in the form of a yell from the elevator and V and Panam ripped into the goons closest to them. 

"Here comes Johnny!" The rockerboy let out a noise of pure elation and the ground literally shook and outside the ground exploded into a cloud of dust and debris. At the centre was a robot that I'd found inert in the security centre, and at the helm was one violence loving, death defying man. Bullets blasted from the machine gun arms attached to the bot, and those goons who were close enough were shredded. 

"The car!" V leapt high over the heads of the goons, graceful and predatory in every move the made, those mantis blades a deadly arc as she went. Panam was awkwardly running for the exit, the temperature case for the relic too bulky to effectively carry at all. 

I turned and fired back into the group of goons, V cutting a path for Panam while I tried to clear one for us ahead. Johnny was having a blast outside, and if we could get clear of here, we'd be home free. 

"On your right!" I called at V and she instinctively swung her blade, the man's head rolling off his shoulders. "Let's go!"

V grabbed the other side of the box and I flanked them as they made a dash for the doors. 

"Over there!" I pointed to where I'd parked. "Path was clear. I'll cover from here."

"What the hell are you doing?"

Maybe it was the Black Lace, or maybe I was finally going mad, but as I looked over to where Johnny was fighting I was overcome with an intense burning hatred. Hatred for the AI for Arasaka, for everything...

I dropped the gun to the floor and stepped towards where the battle was ensuing. Heat filled every fibre of my being and I lashed out with my mind, hacking everything i could see. The RAM usage warning on my HUD blinked at me, but I ignored it, launching a single daemon at the group of enemies, a single daemon of mass cripple. It bounced between them, where they were linked to the AI on its server and with a terrifyingly uniform movement they dropped to the ground. Still it wasn't enough, not nearly enough, the hunger inside me for retribution was too strong. 

"Aeri get in the fucking car!" Johnny was yelling at me now, and I could hear an engine revving in the background. 

I ignored him, eyes locking onto the screamsheets and I grinned brightly at the idea in my head. 

"Aeri!"

I winked at the robot bearing down on me, and fired a quickhack at the nearest screen. It wouldn't last long, and there was no real reason to do it, but I'd never been very good at acting sensibly.

Johnny herded me backwards, the massive robotic body blocking me from any potential dangers. 

"Get your ass in here!" 

I yelped like a wounded dog as a hand grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and dragged me headfirst through the window of the car, landing half in V's lap and half out the car. 

"Fancy meeting you here!" I grinned at her, and she shot me a dark look. 

The car's tyres screeched and as I wriggled my legs into the seat I realised just how pale V was. 

"The hell happened to you?!" I rightened myself and grabbed at the blood soaked shirt sticking to her torso, peeling it away and up. "Fuck! Panam, get us to Viktor. Now!"

"I'm fine."

"Now Pan."

A notification pinged on my HUD that Johnny's connection to the bot had been lost, perhaps too much distance. 

"Uh... Ri? Was that you?"

I glanced up, to where V was looking, a cruel smile on her lips. The screamsheets were slowly changing, one by one, each flaring a bright purple Oni mask and the word Weaver under it. 

"Couldn't just let that fucking AI think he's won," I shrugged as I pulled off my shirt, pressing it against the bleeding wound on V's side. "Shit, Panam drive quicker would you?"

"I've survived much worse."

"Yeah? Well I'm not willing to take any chances," I shot back at her. "How long until we get there?"

"Jesus Christ Aeri I can't teleport us!" 

"Yeah yeah, just..." I inhaled deeply, trying to center myself away from the mania of the drugs. I could feel it slowly wearing off and I didnt need to run a systems diagnostic to tell that my left leg was all but a limp noodle. When the drugs exited my body, I doubted even a hard reset would help. I needed to replace the parts and get the nerves around my brain stem repaired...

"Helluva message to send. A bright fuckin' beacon across Night City, couldn't have done it better myself," Johnny let out a low chuckle across the line. "Nice little emblem there, I expect the copyright payment ASAP. Booze, eddies or booty are acceptable forms of payment."

"What?"

"Samurai, Johnny's old band. That's their calling card," V explained, a sheen of sweat covering her forehead. "You must have seen the jacket."

"Shit V you still got that old thing?" Panam laughed. "I'm shocked now that you're decked out in Aldecaldo leather."

"Nostalgia," V grimaced as the car went over a rough patch of road, jostling us around. "Must have been in the trunk when I came through the Cage."

"Blatant disrespect for my merch aside, am I gonna be the only one taking a piece outta Aeri for her gonked up fuckin' rebellion moment?" Johnny's voice was hard, and I found myself swallowing hard in nervousness. 

"Neither of them listen to me anyway, so have at it Shithand."

"My pleasure sugartits."

"Like an old married couple," V laughed and then coughed, hand coming up to catch the splash of blood that exploded over her fingers. 

"Christ!" I grabbed V as she fell forward, eyes going vacant. "V? V?!"

"She's flatlining!"

"Keep driving Panam!"

I jerked out my personal link and pushed V's hair away from her neck, jacking into her biolink. Error messages screamed their way across my HUD but I shoved them away, blasting my way through her personal ICE, hacking her cyberware. There was so much damage around her brain but I ignored that, instead going straight for the bioshocker in her chest. I forced it to fire off, ignoring the blast of electrical energy that lanced across my systems too. Still flatlining, I initiated the charge again and this time when the shock went off I was thrown back against the car door, link disconnecting. Warning after warning as my own cyberware sizzled and short circuited, but V was no longer lolling lifelessly around, her eyes were focused and her breath was a ragged tattoo in her chest. 

"We're here!" Panam didn't even bother turning the car off, she just screeched to a halt outside the small store and threw herself out the car, opening the door and dragging V out. With surprising ease the dark haired woman hauled the two of them into the shop as I lay on the backseat of the car, legs jerking sporadically.

"This would be the perfect moment to lecture you, seeing as how you can't move or sass me for the first goddamn time."

Fuck you Johnny.

"But I'm a nice guy, so I'll let you off easy this time seein' as how you're basically fried bacon at this point."

_ Nice guy?! Psh... _

"Don't fuckin' do that again. You're one of the last good fuckin' things I got left, and amazingly you haven't kicked me to the curb or treated me like trash even though I was a dick to you. So don't fuckin' kill yourself, be a hell of a shame.”

_ Don’t blush. Don’t fucking blush. _   
Johnny went quiet after that, as I lay there, half naked and immobile, staring at the roof of the car. I hadn’t meant to act crazy and suicidal, but I’d been so focused…

Fuck.   



	28. Interlude to Chaos

Viktor and Panam came to get me out of the car, Viktor dragging me up, carrying almost in a princess like fashion, while Panam tossed the leather jacket I’d spied on over my upper body, which I was grateful for, because the majority of my midriff was now on display. 

Neither of them said a word to me, as I was carried through to the ripperdoc’s office. V was asleep on the chair, less pale than before, and wrapped in a plethora of bandages. Viktor gently placed me down on the chair, and Panam tucked my arms into the jacket, zipping it up for me. I managed to thank her with my eyes, as Viktor began a scan of my cyberware, eyes dark.

“You saved her, but she’s going to be out of it for a while,” Viktor answered my questioning gaze as I slid my eyes between him and Panam and V. “Both of you are. I’m sorry kid, but… From here on out, you’re going to be living a _very_ immobile life. Your cyberware is shot, and while I can replace it, your nerves are all but dead themselves. I’ll run a hard reset, and that should at least give you the upper half of your body back, honestly it’s a miracle your lungs haven’t given out yet.”

I closed my eyes, grateful that I was able to do that much on my own. I didn’t want to think too much about what this meant, the consequences that were bound to his words, about my future from here on out. 

I couldn’t, or I was sure I’d sink into despair.

I opened my eyes once, to shoot Viktor a look of thanks and my eyes caught sight of myself in the dim reflection on an off screen, and Johnny let out a short whistle.

“I gotta admit, you look a damn sight better in that than V ever did.”

I closed my eyes again, and pulled myself into the server on my laptop which Panam had carried in, along with my backpack.

It was the beach again, this time it was sunset, and the colour of the sun on the water was a brilliant hue of purple and pink as the clouds in the sky were tinged with lines of gold and silver. Fire above the water, and brilliance above it all. 

I inhaled deeply, the scent of the ocean water and the fading heat on the sand curled around my senses and I dug my bare toes into the sand, imagining the feeling. 

“Running away from the aftereffects?”

I closed my eyes, imprinting the colours of the sky into my memory and the sound of the waves crashing into the shore, a slow steady pulse of the world that made my very soul hum and sway with them. 

The sand crunched behind me, and I tilted my head to the side, catching sight of Johnny and his tattooed torso. He stood just behind me, not moving, arms crossed over his chest, glasses long tossed away.

“I didn’t expect things to get this so damn convoluted,” I sighed into the wind, and when Johnny didn’t reply I thought it had been whisked away. 

A moment later he let out a sigh.

“No-one ever does darlin’, hell, none of us wanted to end up here. I wanted to go out in a drug fuelled haze, satiated and too damn high to ever know I’d died. V wanted to go out in a blaze of fuckin’ glory and Panam? Fuck knows what she wanted, but I can tell you… None of us expected ourselves to end up here,” Johnny stepped up around me, eyes locking onto mine and I had to glance away at the intensity there. “Ain’t none of us will ever regret meeting you, and while it took a while to accept it, I don’t think I’ve _ever_ been as entertained in my life. Hell, if I was alive, I wouldn’t even need the damn drugs with you around. You’re fuckin’ insane, and it’s the most interesting thing on Earth to see.”

“Are you…” I frowned at him, meeting his eyes again and shooting him a smirk. “Are you flirting with me Silverhand? If so, damn, you need to work on your smooth talk. How you _ever_ got laid is beyond me.”

“You’re a fuckin’ mouthy ass brat,” He growled lowly at me, and I took an involuntary step back at the dark look on his face, but I held my ground, chin tilting upwards in defiance. “Fucking looking for trouble.”

“How about that chess game?”

Johnny staggered like he’d been knocked off balance and I could have laughed my head off at the shock on his features. 

“Insane, I tell you.”

I waved my hand, the chess board appearing on the sand behind us, and I waved him over as I blinked towards the board, the pieces aligning themselves. 

“Must admit, I didn’t take you for a chess guy,” I took a seat on the black side, and Johnny trudged over, seating himself opposite me. He moved his first piece, the knight, going straight for an agressive, offensive stance. “Though, you certainly play an interesting game.”

“Better quick and sudden than slow and painful,” Johnny shrugged, watching as I slid a pawn forward two places. “You should appreciate that.”

“Too fast means you miss out on too much.”

“So you prefer a more thorough approach? Slow and steady and when you get all the information you’re ready to go full speed?”

I lifted my eyes to his, as he shifted his pawn, clearing room for his queen to move. I followed with a pawn move of my own, watching as a smirk flirted with his features.

“Where is your grave?”

Johnny jerked like he’d been shocked, eyes latching onto my own.

“The fuck?”

“Where were you buried?”

“In the middle of the oil fields apparently,” Johnny shrugged, moving his other knight. “Tossed like garbage and buried under a thousand tons of trash.”

I made a humming noise of understanding.

“You’d ever want to come back?”

“Live again? Fuck, I don’t know, not that I’ve ever thought about it since V and the chip. I’m dead, and dead should stay dead.”

“What if you weren’t dead. Hypothetically.”

“Hypothetically? Fuck Aeri, what would the world want from a washed out old terrorist and rocker like me? I can muse about opening a bar, about playing music again, but really? Fuck I’m just a remnant of a time long passed.”

“So you’d just stay dead, even if you had the option?”

Johnny shot me a long hard look and then shrugged at nothing.

“Might stick it out, you know, for the people. You, V… maybe even Panam the uppity cow and her yelling.”

I slid my bishop out, and Johnny leapt at the opportunity, his queen sliding forward to take the piece and he smirked at me.

“You play like you fight. Predictably.”

I shrugged at him, and went back to shifting my knight forward, queen unmoving.

“V’s got the Relic now, and Panam will probably find the cloning facilities left by Biotechnika soon, if she hasn’t already. I’m going to recreate the SoulKiller program from the data I’ve scrounged and she’ll be ready to go soon.”

“Sounds like a great time for her.”

“You wanna go through the same for yourself?” 

Johnny sputtered like he was choking and I shot him a grin, his knight moving too far forward. I snatched it with my remaining bishop and his look turned darker, more predatory. 

“Minx, playing me like that.”

I gave him a gentle and innocent grin.

“I don’t know what you mean Mr. Silverhand. I’m merely asking a question, you want a nice new shiny body?”

“Ain’t no way that’s possible, you need DNA to grow a new body and as I told you darlin’, I’m under a terrible amount of garbage and I ain’t comin’ out anytime soon.”

I hummed in acknowledgement, eyes locked on his.

“Let’s make a deal,” I sighed and pushed away from the chess board. “If, and only _if_ I can find a speck of your DNA, will you come back?”

"Hell if you can manage to track down a speck of my worn out DNA then you're welcome to whatever asshatted plan you're working on."

A smile curled on his lips as he said that though and I let out a soft laugh, sliding my queen out into the fray and taking his own queen. Johnny made a noise of surprise, a low little grunt and then he lifted his eyes to mine. 

"How many times am I gonna say I didn't see that coming with you?"

"At least once more Mr. Silverhand," I stretched lazily and flopped back onto the sand, the last vestiges of sunset in the sky turning the world into a place of twilight and dreams. 

"You already giving up?" He asked me as I closed my eyes, enjoying the roar of waves around me. "I mean things were just getting interesting."

"Check in four moves, checkmate in seven then."

I heard him make a noise of disbelief, and I flicked a finger at the chessboard, slowly sitting up and the pieces moved themselves across the board in the way I'd planned, the final check coming from my bishop and rook on his king, while my queen was swiftly knocked from the board in a very bold sacrifice. 

"You play a lot of chess?"

"I learned it and another game shogi when I was about five, my grandfather insisted it was the best way to understand the world around me. All the world is a game and if you don't know the value of each piece then you'll always lose."

"Queen isn't valuable?"

"A queen is only as good as her pawns, if you don't have people willing to help you then you're no queen, you're just a pretender to the throne."

Johnny made a noise of understanding but didn't comment further, instead he looked down at the board, a frown somewhere on his face, but it was hidden by layers of something I couldn't quite place. Unusual, considering he usually wore his emotions and intentions like a blazing emblem on his body.

"V ain't got very long left, does she?"

"No, but we've got a plan for that and it will work, so I wouldn't worry too much about that."

"How about your plan, how are you going to get past this latest shithole of trouble you've fallen into?"

"I have a couple of ideas actually," I chuckled at him. "Not sure how many people will appreciate them, but that's just one of those unavoidable things."

I knew that from here on out, everything would be different, wholly different and there was no coming back from it. I just hoped that it worked out for the best...


	29. Keep You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but there's more coming tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for sticking with me.

Johnny had never found himself one to make declarations, he'd never been one to ever really let emotional moments overcome him either. Fuck, the only time he was ever honest with people regarding his feelings was when he, or them were about to die. He knew that this, along with the booze and drugs and a thousand other behaviours were probably the worst things about him, but it had always just been easier that way.

Now as Aeri walked along the edge of the ocean, her short hair whipping wildly in the wind, skin basically glowing in the moonlight he wished he wasn't that kind of person. 

That he could just say things and they'd not be yelled in anger or said moments before disaster. He wanted to watch the moment, and see it bloom into something better... 

Johnny knew she was planning something, he knew that haunted look she held in her eyes a little too well, the problem was he had no idea what, or how to stop her.

He figured blurting words out now would do nothing but make things more painful for her, instead of change her mind about what she was planning, but... 

Johnny kicked a pile of sand in front of him in frustration, and his metallic hand clenched into a fist as he glared out at the unending stretch of beach to the side. 

He was fuming so much that he didn't hear her approach until the flare of static played across the area where his hands were clenched. 

He jerked like he'd been shocked and glanced down, Aeri's hands were gently resting above his, and she was frowning down at them. 

The static ran up even his metallic hand and Johnny inhaled deeply, realising just how close she was standing. She flipped her hands around, the palms facing upwards and she peeked up at him through her eyelashes, indicting he should copy her. Despite his mood he complied, slowly unclenching his fists and turning his hands over, silver and tanned flesh facing the sky. 

His hands were large, always had been, and they were lined with scars from countless fights, and calloused from a lifetime of guns and guitars. Here in this form, the remnant of his body from Arasaka they were a bit dirty too, specks of ash and dirt on the edges. 

Johnny looked at Aeri's own hands, the pale skin so white in the moonlight that they seemed nearly translucent. They were tiny too, at least compared to his own, and her fingers were shorter than he'd have expected. They were also pristine, not a single mark marred that synthskin, except for the odd freckle.

She touched her thumb to her index finger, then middle and each digit in turn and Johnny found himself oddly entertained, copying her effortlessly. He'd trained his own hands for years to play chords and fly down riffs with no issue, so something like this was easy for him.

"Breaching with the thumb, the index is for moving, middle for daemons because fuck them, ring for quick hacks, and lastly the pinky for backup," She explained to him, voice quiet. "That's how I hack. I can't explain it any other way to you than that, because this is what works for me."

"Can't say I understand darlin' but I get what you're pointing out."

Aeri grinned crookedly and her eyes met his briefly and Johnny realised just how close they were. They'd never stood this close before, at least not with both parties willing. Last time he'd tried that, he'd ended up jerking on the ground like a fish out of water.

That she hadn't thrown him into the ocean and was willingly next to him, made his chest a little tighter.

"You've got a very strange expression on your face Silverhand."

"What? No I don't." Johnny shot back, frowning at her smirk. "This is just my thinking face."

"No wonder it's so strange, first time you've ever thought..."

She twirled away with a laugh as Johnny grabbed for her and stuck her tongue out at him. 

"Fuckin' brat," Johnny grumbled at her as she laughed at him. 

"I don't know what..."

Her face went stiff for a second, cutting off mid-sentence, eyes glazing over. Then she was back, shooting him an apologetic smile.

"The real world calls. See ya rockerboy."

She blinked out of existence so suddenly that Johnny was left wondering if he'd actually dreamed this all up or not, if he was still somehow stuck in Mikoshi...

  
  


I watched as Panam helped V into bed, the blue haired katana wielding badass a pale and shaking version of herself. Viktor was nearby, monitoring everything with a stern eye, his gaze slipping between her and I. 

I was seated on the chair nearby, placed there by Viktor. I'd regained mobility in my legs but it was sporadic and the painful bouts of neuralgia that spasmed down my legs and spine was not worth the effort it took to walk. Viktor had replaced my pain suppressors but honestly it was nothing but a placebo, at this point there was nothing we could do. 

"I'll put my stuff in the spare room," Viktor turned away and headed out. He'd volunteered to move for a while, to check in on V. 

"You okay? Do you need anything?" Panam fluffed the pillows behind V's head, fussing like a mother hen. "Water?"

"Fuck that. Beer."

The look Panam shot her was purely lethal, enough to make me squirm.

"Not a chance in hell."

"You're no fun," V grumbled at her, but her eyes were going fuzzy. She was exhausted, just this little bit of action and banter had drained her. "Gonna... take a little nap now..."

Panam watched her breathing for a long minute and then she ran her hands over her face in a mixture of desperation and terror and exhaustion. Her eyes were tinged with red and surrounded by shadows when she turned to look at me.

"Tell me you can get Soulkiller running. Tell me you have a plan."

"I've been dredging through my archives, and the information you gave me from Arasaka and the base code you recovered there. I can run the program... probably."

"Probably?"

"I don't know anything about it. I've never seen code like it before, so I'm doing everything I can here to make sure I don't fuck up."

"She doesn't have long left."

"I know. I just... there is no room for error here Panam," I sighed. "I'll look at it more tonight. I promise, we'll have it running in time."

"Please... she's family."

I nodded at Panam and she sighed, stepping up to help me up to my feet. Her arm slipped around my back and she half carried, half dragged me to my bedroom in silence before exiting, no doubt to go watch V.

I watched the door for a few seconds and then I pulled up the contact list on my HUD, hitting dial as I locked the door with a thought.

"Aeri right? What's the plan?"

"First things first, I need you to track something down for me. Well, one thing and one person."

Rogue made a noise of acknowledgment and I made my request of her.

"If they're in Night City then I'll get them. Now, what's the plan here?"

"We're going to need an alliance, Maelstrom's in whether they want to be or not, and Animals aren't going to miss the chance to get Pacifica back, but the rest are a wild card."

"I can wrangle a few favours owed to me, we can get the numbers you need, but what good is an army against the AI with only one runner? No offense but you're just one girl, and now you've pissed it off with your little light show."

"I know, that's why I'm going to get the big guns in."

"Alright. Well, I'll leave that part to you, for now I have a revolution to start."

"Counting on you Rogue."

The line went dead.


	30. Cry Baby

I’d been staring at the Soulkiller program code for several hours, running and rerunning strings of code and simulations, so far I’d only managed to get the program to run glitch free, and wholly copy the simulated personality around sixty percent of the time. Under normal circumstances that would be fine, a good milestone of progression but… I was frustrated, and I couldn’t see the logic in the patterns. There was no logic, there was just no… reasoning and it made my skin itch with how frustrating it was.

Viktor had come in and left again after checking my nerve responses, I’d tolerated the poking and prodding, but I’d been too focused on the task at hand to really pay much attention to what he was saying. At some point I guessed either he or Panam had returned, because there was a plate with what looked like some sort of sandwich on it next to the bed, but as I blinked past the frustration in my head I couldn’t find anything in my body that was telling me it was hungry. So I instead returned to the code, turning it around and around on the screen, and back and forth in my mind.

There was nothing else I could do. This was beyond my understanding, the link between the biological aspects and the coding was something I couldn’t fathom, not in the time remaining for V. It would take me weeks, months before I could understand it at level required. 

A heavy sigh left me and I closed my laptop angrily. I knew what I needed to do, the steps that I had to take, but… A part of me was dreading it. Dreading it, even though I knew what needed to be done. 

There was just… nothing left and our time was up.

I thought back to the beach, to Johnny and the peacefulness of the setting. It had been the first time, in a very long time that I’d felt… at home, at peace. Happy.

A message notification popped up on my HUD, Rogue letting me know that she’d found one of the two things I’d asked her for - the biochemist - and she would be keeping him close by. Apparently the other item was a little more tricky to find, but she’d gotten some leads. I had to admire just how quickly Rogue worked, but there was no way you’d get to her position by being anything but the best.

At least that part of my plan was in place and ready, all that was left now was to get the last few things in place. I replied to Rogue’s message with a follow up message, attaching coordinates for the facility found near Arasaka tower, a small, until now mostly auxiliary R&D station. From what I’d seen, there would be everything needed to start the process, and with Panam’s research and information the biochemist would be able to make significant headway on the physical aspects. From here on out, it was up to me to complete the rest.

I closed my eyes, leaning back into the pillows of the bed. I was deeply exhausted but I knew I wouldn’t get any rest for a while still, so I set about scanning the security systems of the warehouse, rerunning the programs and checking for any weaknesses. I thought about going back and visiting Johnny, but I couldn’t see myself being able to keep track with his quick fire wit at this moment. So instead I opened the blinds on the window, staring out into the night lights of the city - the screamsheets had gone dark since I’d messed with them earlier. Obviously Altor had decided that he wasn’t amused by my efforts in the slightest, the idea made me chuckle to myself. I did so enjoy messing with that thing…

It was staring out at the glow of the city that I fell asleep, distant thoughts of waves and calluses and sand lulling me to sleep.

V flatlined sometime in the morning hours, and I was woken by Panam yelling for Viktor. I tried to drag myself to the room next door, literally drag myself but I didn't make it far, instead I landed face first on the floor buckling in pain as the phantom pain of my dying nerves ran its course. 

Minutes felt like hours as I listened to Viktor working, and when I heard Panam thank him profusely was the only time I dared to breath louder. 

A couple of laboured breaths and a terrible amount of pain later I half dragged, half rolled myself up against the bed. I popped a text through to Rogue and then one to Panam who came walking like a living ghost into my room.

"Can you jack her in?" I asked quietly watching the woman with haunted eyes with my own haunted gaze. "I need to ask her something."

"Yeah. Sure."

I nodded as she headed off, grateful I had taken the time to make a small local network for the warehouse away from the rest of the city. 

It took me more effort to crawl my way into my bed, but I eventually made it, a reply from Rogue beeping in. 

_ Lab is up and running. Dr has some requests. Equipment being delivered. Silver on its way. _

I breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, things were on track. I curled up and in on myself as the pain bolted up and down my spine, and with shaking hands I jacked into the system.

It took longer than usual to connect, I could barely concentrate as it was and just linking in took more effort than I had expected. 

When I was in, just loading the code for my form was a... mission, but I managed, swaying weakly on the sand. 

A little ways off, Johnny and V were sitting side by side, staring off into the distance of the ocean lined horizon, their faces blank. Watching them like this I almost felt like I was intruding on something intensely private and if I wasn't so desperate I'd have left them be, to sit and listen to each other's spoken words.

As it was I tried my best to not intrude too much as I blinked up on V's right, sitting slowly next to the merc. Her eyes flicked over to me once, and then back to the ocean view, the only sign she knew I was there. 

For a while the three of us sat there, and in my mind I ran through the words I needed to say and the subsequent effect they'd have. I knew that once I said them, that once they were out there everything was going to change and a very big part of me didn't want that. I wanted this peaceful moment to drag out, to keep everyone safe and happy here...

"You're dying V," I managed after swallowing a couple of times. "I mean you know that, but... it's too fast."

"Yeah."

I inhaled deeply, reaching down to fiddle with a handful of sand.

"We've got the Soulkiller program and the code, but... I can't figure it out. I've tried, but I'm not versed in this biological stuff, not enough to fill in the missing parts of the code."

"That's okay Aeri... You tried and..."

"It's not over," I cut her off midway, bracing myself for the next few moments of conversation. "I have a way, to make this work and when we're done here I'll start my plan in full, I've been working with Rogue on the side."

"The hell you talking about?" Johnny chipped in, and I could see he was already catching wind of my plan. That bullshit detector of his was one hell of a superpower and highly inconvenient for me at the best of times. "The fuck screwy ass plan are you launching Aeri?"

"I can't save V without help, and the only person who can help me is Alt."

"Alt Cunningham? I thought she was zeroed by the AI?" V turned to me, frowning. 

"I... I think she's still alive or around. I don't think Altor would have killed her, not when he might need her, or could influence her to assist him. My best guess is she's layered up in Black Ice in Pacifica."

"So what then, you planning on busting in there, because I'm not going to be much help right now..."

I inhaled deeply.

"No. I'm going to go with my original plan, just modified."


	31. Legends Never Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. This is how it goes.

Johnny wore rage well, I'd seen it before, the lurking darkness that overcame him was something to behold, but V? Even in the midst of the killing field she had a peacefulness to her, perhaps because she'd long since given up on living... now though? Now there was nothing peaceful about her. 

If Johnny wore rage, then V was rage personified when triggered, her whole soul and body twisting. 

I suddenly found myself faced by a beast of rage and a monstrous tidal wave of it and the result was... terrifying. 

I wanted to cower, as both of them rounded on me, but I knew I had no choice. If I faltered even slightly, then they'd pounce, both such master manipulators of feelings and V would die because I gave in. 

No, now I needed to be who I was born and raised to be. Now I needed to become the monster I never wanted to be, I had to, for them. Now I could no longer call myself Aeri, the name I'd chosen instead of the one they'd chosen for me. I had to become Seiren, and I needed to save them.

"You're not doing that. No chance in hell."

"You fucking hit your head this morning? I won't let you do something so stupid!"

Johnny and V spoke at once both getting to their feet, and I didn't move though. I knew if I stopped focusing on being strong, on that icy personality then... then I'd break.

"I don't recall asking either of you for your approval, nor for your input."

"Well you're in for it now," Johnny growled lowly, and I shot him a droll look out of the corner of my eye. "The fuck we been saying about this hero shit? Ain't for people like us, we're messed up rejects of this fuckin’ world and the only heroic thing any of us should ever do is live a fuckin' normal life."

"I won't let you get yourself killed for me you idiot!" V paced the sand, if I was actually in the real world next to her she probably would have shaken me. 

"I came here as a courtesy, to say goodbye, and honestly there's nothing either of you can do to stop me from here on," I sighed and pushed to my feet, in an instant Johnny was up in my face, looming form so much bigger than my own. His fists were clenched again, but I didn't cower, I didn't flinch because I knew from the look behind those dark eyes that it was nothing but desperation. He was helpless to stop me, both of them were right now and by the time V let Panam or anyone else know what I was up to, I'd be long gone. 

I felt my steeled gaze soften at the pleading look in Johnny's eyes, at the words he was fighting to spit out, or hold back... I couldn't be sure honestly. My hand came up, and the static of his construct hummed against my fingers as I made to push back those unruly strands of hair which constantly pushed past his ears and fell every which way. It didn't do anything but I didn't care, this was alright too.

"Someone has to save the world."

"Why does it have to be you?" He breathed, so close that every inch of our constructs were humming. "Fuck, just don't do it."

"Blaze of glory right?" I turned to look at V who was still raging. "World needs its best merc."

"Fuck my life. It's not worth anyone else's, not ever again. You don't get to put the weight of more people's deaths on my shoulders you damn Arasaka!"

"I never said anything about dying."

"It's a suicide mission!"

I shrugged and stepped back from Johnny, his hand coming up like he was going to grab me and hold me in place. 

"Hold on a little bit longer. Both of you, and I'll see you... someday."

"Aeri please!" 

I took one last look over at the ocean, the light reflecting off the blue waters, I dug my bare feet into the sand and memorised every second of it, eyes turning to memorise Johnny. His tattoos and his stupidly sad eyes... moving to V, her rage and terror.

"See you around."

  
  


I dragged my way along the walls of the warehouse, every step like a knife being shoved into my spine. The only thing allowing me to move was my forced hack of my cyberware, but that was already about too much, the dead ends of my nerves were sputtering out and I knew that by the time I made it outside that I'd be a true invalid.

A message pinged onto my HUD - Dum Dum was waiting for me outside the door, and I breathed out a sigh of relief and opened it for him.

Red optics lit the darkened warehouse and the gangbanger silently stepped forward, sweeping me up onto his back, gripping under my thighs tightly to compensate for my lack of assistance in that way. 

He'd parked a little ways down, far enough that it wouldn't have woken either Panam or V - not that V could get out of the server. Not yet, I'd disabled her logout sequence for the next two hours, more than enough time for me to get to where I needed to be.

"Pacifica then?" Dum Dum asked as he loaded me into the car. "Any last requests before you get yourself gonked? I'll even be a real choom and give you a pity fuck if you want."

"More like me pity fucking you," I shot back with a dark look at him. "Just drive me to the outskirts."

"The amount of eddies you threw at me will get you anywhere you want."

"Then shut up and drive."

He obliged and I watched the lights and sights of Night City pass by intently, memorising every second, taking it in like I was a starved man getting a scrap of food. Drunks stumbling along paving, doomsayers pointing at the cage and screaming about the wrath of god, Altor's goons patrolling under the light of the screamsheets which all flashed images of the destruction we'd wrought at Arasaka Tower, and new flashes of images from outside the cage. I had no idea how he was getting them, but I was ready to find out, and more than ready to get rid of the control he had exerted over everyone. 

"You sure about this?"

I didn't answer for a long time, not until he'd slowed the car, the derelict stadium looming ahead of us.

"No but we haven't got that much of a choice."

"Always knew you were gonked. Didn't realise just how much."

I shot Dum Dum a wry smile and parked the car, exiting so he could help me out. The leather jacket, V's, was enough to keep me warm in the chilled air, the heat island effect less here too and I breathed the scent of leather in. 

"Straight to Rogue, remember? Give her this, and follow whatever she says like it's law." I reminded him, slapping the data shard with Soulkiller's best possible layout that I could make into his hand. If all went to shit then at least V would have a chance... "Also. Thank you."

"Ain't gonna take thanks for leaving you here. You come out of this alive, then you buy me a drink, that's the thanks I want."

"Deal," I nodded at him and he climbed into the car, as I leaned heavily against the rotting wall. 

The engine revved and then with a squeal of tyres Dum Dum left me alone, staring at the looming mass of Pacifica. 

"Once more unto the breach..." I breathed in and glanced up at the city camera, disabling my optic scrambling mod, and hacking into the network. The world blinked away and I stood before the black cloud that was Altor's presence. Memories of the last time I was faced with this sight made my hand shake slightly as I lifted it, but I steeled my nerves. I had to do this, I had to get Alt, I had to get V her life back, I had to go out fighting.

"Knock knock motherfucking asshole," I hissed as I touched the wall. 


End file.
